


Archaic Kinds Of Fun

by TotidemVerbis



Series: Archaic Kinds Of Fun [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Addiction, Alcohol Withdrawal, Avengers Becoming A Family, F/M, Lot of fluff, PTSD, Team Bonding, some violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2018-01-28
Packaged: 2018-05-08 22:17:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 49
Words: 330,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5515334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TotidemVerbis/pseuds/TotidemVerbis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jo Holbrook isn't anybody's hero. She's just another mutant living amongst civilians, until she gets a call giving her a job to do. She might not be a hero, but she can't turn a corner in her own house without bumping into one.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
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    <a href="http://s1290.photobucket.com/user/IronBat/media/ARCHAIC/ArchaicBannerFinal2_zpsaizxwvf8.jpg.html">
      <img/>
    </a>
  </p>
</div> 
            </blockquote>





	1. Short A Stark

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:** I do not own **Marvel** ; none of the characters or anything else from the universe. I do own my original characters, such as Jo Holbrook, but I like to picture her as Phoebe Tonkin. Hence the pretty picture above. I also do not own any of the images being used in the Story Banner. If they belong to you and you want them removed, let me know and I’ll take them down immediately. This is purely fanmade, for my own enjoyment and hopefully yours, so happy reading!
> 
> This story starts after the end of _Iron Man 3_. Tony blew up his suits, but the arc reactor is still firmly in place. That's about all you need to know to start off with!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
> _"She rolled over all of 'em...like a, like a tank."_  
>  **SHIELD Agent on Josephine Holbrook**  
> 

**January 12, 2014**

Hips swaying and arms waving, Jo Holbrook was having the time of her life. The beat of the music was keeping time with her heart, and there was a pair of large hands gripping her shapely hips. Her body is shiny with sweat, her tank top and loose skirt is sticking to her skin, and she feels amazing. She’s relaxed despite being surrounded by a mass of writhing bodies out in the open air. Nothing is above her but open sky, there’s nothing between her feet and the warm ground, and the street smells like flowers and BO. Okay, that last part is a little gross, but she’s cool with it. The dancing makes her forget about **everything** except for the way her body is moving.

_Are you gonna take me home tonight?_  
_Ah, down beside that red firelight?_  
_Are you gonna let it all hang out?_  
_Fat bottomed girls, you make the—_

“Sonofabi—What?!” Jo nearly broke a finger trying to get her phone out of the hidden pocket on the inside of her flowy skirt, that she had to sew herself, and she was really not in the mood to talk to anyone that has her phone number. Despite the interruption, there was still a body pressed against her front and slowly moving against her. Whatever. She can multitask. 

“Is that how you always answer the phone, Eris?” She knows that voice, because there’s no one else that can ever sound that menacing without effort. 

“There’s usually a bit more profanity actually, sir.” Her words were low and came out in a slow drawl as her hips moved in a circle. 

“I need you to come in.” The words made her completely freeze, and she smiled across at her dancing partner as she told Fury to wait a second. She let her hips have one last grind, gave her dancing partner’s tonsils a goodbye kiss, and then sauntered away from the giant block party. 

“I’m not one of your agents, sir. I’ve been assignment free for three years, and I’d like to keep it that way.” After spending the past hour surrounded by bodies, being out in the open air made her feel a little cold. Then again, that could be because she’s only wearing a thin tank top and an almost see through skirt. 

“This is not a SHIELD assignment.” Well, that’s different. In the past, she went on SHIELD assignments exclusively. It’s not that she hates the assignments, but they normally end with her killing someone. Or at least getting them somewhere close. 

“What’d you have in mind, sir?” Okay, so she’s curious. She’s had complete radio silence for three years, except for two agents that like to drop in from time to time. 

“Do you know about the Stark incidences?” Incidences, plural. Yeah, she’s heard about them even in her isolation. It’s kinda hard not to. Tony Stark. Billionaire, playboy, asshole, _Iron Man_. Maybe calling him an asshole is a little harsh, but she got blown up by one of his specialty bombs before he decided to turn over a new leaf. She’s still a little bitter. 

“Yeah, I’ve heard. Got blown up by his own stuff, some metal in his heart, an arc reactor, created a new element, and lately…the Mandarin thing, right?”

“That’s the gist. After what happened, he blew up his suits and is now unprotected.” Jo snorted, like a lady, and collapsed down onto a bench. 

“Sucks for him. What do you want from me?” She’s got a vague feeling about where this conversation is going, and she doesn’t like it. Not one little bit. 

“Stark is an asshole, and we both know it. He doesn’t know how to lay low and he’s got a special talent for pissing people off. We need him alive, and he is incapable of keeping himself that way at the present moment. Do you get what I am saying?”

“Yeah, sir, I follow. You want me to list off some recommendations?” There’s a definite bite to her tone, because he is not asking her what she thinks he’s asking her. 

“I need you to come in, Eris. You can keep him alive and ignore his bullshit. Six months, tops, and you’re back in the wind.” She has spent the past year in Rio. A few months before that in Paris. London. Two crazy weeks in Amsterdam. Tokyo. 

“What’s in it for me?” She was leaning forward on the bench now, elbows on her knees, and watching the people pass by. She can still hear the sound of music in the distance. 

“Stark will be footing the bill.” That’s tempting. She’s not exactly hurting for cash, because SHIELD does pay pretty good, but taking Stark’s money? 

“What all do I have to do?” She could almost hear how smug he was over the phone line and had to grit her teeth to keep a smartass comment at bay. She was having such a good night too. 

“Just keep him alive. That’s all.” Hmm, she can spend the next six months keeping Stark alive. Then maybe she’ll go back overseas and party it up on Stark’s dime. 

“Alright. I’m in, sir.”

“I’ll send you the complete file on Stark. I want you in Malibu in two days’ time, or I’ll send Agent Romanoff after you.” Jo huffed and slumped back against the worn wooden bench. 

“See you then, Fury.”

**.xXx.**

“This is ridiculous. I don’t need a…a…Why am I even here?” He can’t even say the word; that’s how crazy this whole thing is. He’s Tony Stark!

“You are here because I am tired of looking after your self-destructive ass.” It was said with a one-eyed stare that made Tony bristle and start to pace. Fury is still sitting at the round table, and SHIELD’s top two assassins are staring at him with barely concealed amusement. 

“I’m not self-destructive,” Tony pointed out. Okay, he did tell a terrorist his home address, and said home was then blown up, but he’s learned from that particular mistake. 

“Have you built a new suit?” Tony crossed his arms but didn’t say anything. “And the Extremis was safely removed from Pepper’s system?”

“That still doesn’t mean I need a…whatever it is you brought me here for.” Tony gripped the top of a chair and ignored the way the skin over his knuckles popped white. 

“It’s a bodyguard, Stark. Body. Guard.” Note to self, the birdbrain is next to go after the one eyed pirate. 

“What are you gonna do? Assign me one of your uptight agents to keep me from doing something stupid? We both know that I can give any of your agents the slip.” Natasha made a quiet sound in the back of her throat, which Tony completely ignored. Clint didn’t though, going by the muffled squawk that came from his direction. 

“Not one of mine. She’s an independent contractor.” Fury looked too smug. 

“And just who is she?” 

“Street name is Josephine Holbrook, codename Eris, also known as The Tank—”

“You call her The Tank?!” Clint’s forehead was pressed tight against the table as his shoulders shook and even Natasha’s lips had a small amused curve to them. Fury’s face looked the same as always. 

“She’s virtually indestructible with fast acting regenerative powers, and she’s telepathic so you can’t lie to her. She’s fast, she’s strong, and she won’t take any of your shit. She’s also an independent contractor, so you will be her sole employer.” Tony almost argued with that last bit, until he caught on to what Fury was saying. Tony would be the sole employer, so she wouldn’t answer to anyone else. That was good. 

“What is she, some genetic experiment?” The telepathy was a little disconcerting. He doesn’t want anyone messing around inside his head, but the indestructibly sounds like something worth looking into. Just how indestructible is she?

“No, she was born with these abilities.” Born, not made. 

“A mutant? I thought they all went underground after what happened in San Francisco?” He remembers hearing about it, and who can forget about the Golden Gate Bridge being destroyed? Mutants may technically be a secret, but only idiots are still in denial. 

“She’s worked with us for years, even before then.” Mutants and SHIELD don’t always mesh well, so she might be cut off from her fellow mutants. 

“She’s normally pretty laidback, but she’s definitely a first pick when you need someone to watch your back,” Clint spoke up. 

“You’ve met her?” Clint just raised an eyebrow, like the answer was obvious. 

“We’ve worked a few cases together,” Natasha added. Tony nodded, once, and turned back to face Fury. 

“Why do I need her again?” Fury sighed, swiped a hand over his bald head, and leaned forward. 

“You need a bodyguard because you destroyed all your suits, you have a special talent for pissing people off, and you removed the Extremis from Pepper. Someone needs to cover your back, and she’s your best option.” With that, the door to the conference room they were in flew open. A woman walked inside, and Tony turned to get a good look at her. 

She was tall, five-seven, maybe. Her body curved and looked soft. Her hair was brown and pulled back into a thick ball so he couldn’t see how long it was. A pair of dark green eyes were staring right at him, and he could see the recognition in them. So she knows who he is, not that he’s surprised. He _is_ Tony Stark. If she’s going to be seen in public with him, she’s going to need some fashion advice. Her black sandals look like they’re falling apart, her gray skinny jeans are showing a bare piece of her tan right thigh, and her green tank top is fraying at the bottom. Her arms are currently crossed under her sizable chest, and she’s looking him over too. She looks…ordinary. 

_“She doesn’t look like a tank to me,”_ he thought as his eyes traced the glimpse of skin showing between her jeans and tank top. 

“Thanks, I think. Looks are deceiving and all that.” Her voice was a little rough, and she spoke in a slow drawl. 

“You must be Josephine.” Her tight-lipped smile revealed a dimple in her left cheek, and she rocked back on her heels. 

“Jo, please, Mr. Stark. So, did I get the job?” She’s still looking straight at him, and Tony’s still peeved that Fury thinks he needs a…bodyguard. There! He said it! He’s Iron Man! Iron Man does not need a bodyguard! “I’m not a bodyguard for Iron Man, sir. I’m a bodyguard for Tony Stark.”

“I just really don’t think—” He cut off at the sight of blood spraying from the side of the girl’s head, and her green eyes went bloodshot as the bullet was embedded in the wall next to her. She swayed on her feet and then pressed a hand against the gaping hole in her head from where the bullet came out. 

“Was that really necessary, Natasha?” she grumbled. She turned to look at the assassin, and Tony watched as the bloody hole closed up. Not even a minute has passed, and it looks like nothing even happened. 

“That would have killed you, Stark. Jo will just have a headache for about an hour,” Natasha calmly stated. Dark green eyes rolled and then settled on him again. 

“You shot her in the head!” Natasha shrugged, Clint nodded with a smile, and Fury crossed his arms with a sigh. 

“It’s not the first time I’ve taken a bullet to the brain, probably won’t be the last. I promise, sir, I can protect you.” She doesn’t look very old; is she really young or does the healing just make her look that way? She looks so open and _hopeful_. 

“Yeah, sure, why not?”

“You won’t regret it, sir!” She beamed a smile at him, and Tony felt like crawling into a hole. Iron Man with a bodyguard, what a laugh. This is never going to work.

**January 20, 2014**

“Aaaaaaand, this is your room.” Jo’s head was in a bit of a whirlwind as she came to a stop, and she blinked confused eyes over at Tony Stark. _The_ Tony Stark. Iron Man. Genius. Billionaire. Her _boss_. Oh, holy fuck! What has she gotten herself into? Tony Stark may have decided to start afresh, but she’ll always think of him as the Angel of Death. She should’ve never answered her phone. Fucking SHIELD. Fucking Fury. Fucking _Natasha_ fucking _Romanoff_.

“Thanks, uh, Mr. Stark?” The corners of his brown eyes tightened a little as he smiled. It’s a fake smile, almost saccharine, and he looks so uncomfortable that she wants to die of laughter. 

“Mr. Stark, sir, boss…whatever tickles your fancy, sweetheart. Do you need anything else?” Jo glanced down at her army green duffle bag, with its random sewn on patches, and shrugged. She’s got her only possessions, so she’s all set. Well, except for one little thing. 

“Yeah, there’s something, _boss_. What’s your schedule for today?” Her new boss sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets. The pockets of his very nice, and very expensive, slacks. This job is going to get her killed; she can just feel it. Not for the first time, she thought about Rio. She should’ve just stayed in Rio.

“You’re really serious about this whole thing, aren’t you?” She knew this was coming. After she hung up with Fury and thought the situation over, she realized the impossibility of her new job. Stark’s ego would never accept a bodyguard, so she’s pretty sure that he’s going to fight her the whole way. It’s his loss. Fighting is her specialty. 

“You bet, boss. Schedule?” Tony had his mouth open to reply when the sound of glass breaking caught their attention. Jo was moving through the house (the backup Malibu home…who has a _backup_ Malibu home?) without another thought, and she could hear Stark scrambling behind her. She paused in the doorway of a kitchen, hoped that it was the only one, and met a pair of startled blue eyes. The woman was a few inches taller than Jo’s five-seven and thin, with strawberry blonde hair and a calculating look in her eyes. 

“Well, I have to say, she’s not your usual type,” the woman said smoothly. That’s when it clicked. Pepper Potts, CEO of Stark Industries and long-time girlfriend of Tony Stark. According to the files that Fury so nicely gifted her with, Pepper was dosed with some Extremis that gave her a little something extra. It also would’ve burned her up from the inside out, if Tony hadn’t been able to remove it from her system. Jo did a mental headshake and eye roll. One day, people would stop trying to be something they’re not. Super serums never worked out right, except for Captain America. He’s a little special.

“Is she calling me fat?” Jo absently heard herself ask. She could admit that she was a little on the curvy side, but she’s not fat. She’s not Stark’s usual type though, for sure. Besides, Tony is totally devoted Miss Potts, so Jo should’ve expected her to be in the house. It’s going to take her a little while to get the hang of being a bodyguard. Normally she just beats people up. 

“She,” Stark said with a pointed look at Jo before turning back to Pepper, “is my new SHIELD issued bodyguard.”

“A bodyguard? You expect me to believe that _you_ have a bodyguard?” Jo shrugged, Pepper tapped her foot, and Tony ran a hand through his hair. 

“I will be in the lab for the rest of the day. If I leave, JARVIS will inform you. You’re dismissed.” Being a laidback individual, Jo doesn’t get angry very often and normally tries to avoid confrontation. It hasn’t even been a full twenty-four hours, and she’s already imagining all the ways she can kill Stark and get away with it. 

“Yes, boss.” She turned on her heel and marched her way back to her room. The door was shut gently behind her, because there’s no point in abusing furniture, and she tipped her face up to the ceiling. “Uh, JARVIS?”

“Yes, miss?” Her body tensed a little at the bodiless voice before a smile spread across her face. Yeah, she’s heard about the AI system, but this…this is amazing. 

“You can just call me Jo. Will you please inform me if Tony tries to leave the house?” Talking to a ceiling feels kinda silly, but she’s done weirder things in her time. 

“Of course, Miss Jo. Is there anything else you need?” Oh, this beats a butler any day of the week. 

“Not right now, but thanks.” Jo shuffled across the too soft carpet to the huge bed and dropped down onto the gray comforter. Note to self: get some color into her room. Now…what’s she supposed to do?

A minute later, she had her heavy duty phone pressed to her ear as she waited for the other end to pick up. 

“What do you want?” At the sound of the rough growling voice, Jo visibly relaxed and sunk down against the mattress. 

“Missed ya too, asshole. Still babysitting for the Professor?” There was a huff and some shuffling, and Jo shut her eyes as she listened to the familiar sounds. 

“How’s Rio, kid?” It was just the opening she was waiting for. 

“Not in Rio, Logan. You’ll never guess where I am.” And Jo let it all come out, from relaxing in Rio to getting a call from Fury to winding up as Iron Man’s bodyguard. Logan listened in near silence, except for the occasional grunt, until Jo ran out of things to say. 

“Want me to kill him?” Jo laughed at the serious question and shook her head, even though Logan can’t see. She knows what he’s really asking. Logan’s never liked her working for SHIELD, so this is just his way of making sure that she’s not being forced into something. 

“Nah, I’m pretty sure I can put Stark in his place if I need to. Maybe he’ll grow on me.” 

“Better not,” Logan growled just as the sound of something breaking carried over the line. 

“You better get back to the kids, before they burn the place down.” Jo hung up a moment later with a quiet laugh as Logan yelled at some poor unfortunate kid, and she rocked onto her side and buried her face in a super fluffy pillow. 

Logan might not seem like the caretaker type, but he’s always been there for her. She’s known the older mutant since she was two years old; maybe, if he was a little less rough around the edges, she’d think of him as a father. Maybe she does. Her father died while her Ma was pregnant, so she doesn’t know what it feels like to have a father. Logan is the one who went with her to Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters when she was ten, and he stayed on there just so she wouldn’t be alone. He took her shopping for the perfect dress when she got asked to their version of prom, and she told him when she lost her virginity. She didn’t tell him the guy’s name, of course, but still. 

When this bodyguard gig is over, she might go back to New York and visit the old man. With that thought, she fell asleep.

**January 22, 2014**

Jo was still yawning and fighting to put her hair up when she walked into the kitchen, so she didn’t notice the other presence in the room at first. There was the sound of a throat clearing, and Jo blearily blinked her eyes open. Huh, okay. She spent all of yesterday bored out of her mind, because Miss Potts was off being an amazing CEO and Stark was holed up in his lab. Looks like they’re both in today and looking at her like she’s crazy. Maybe she should’ve put on pants before leaving her room.

“Do you not own any clothes?” Stark and Pepper were both sitting at the kitchen bar, with coffee cups and empty plates in front of them. 

“Didn’t realize I was gonna have an audience,” she shrugged and moved over to the fridge. She grabbed a bottle of water, found some granola bars, and plopped down across from the power couple. 

“Miss Holbrook.” Jo held up a hand to stop Pepper right there and quickly swallowed her bite of granola. 

“Just Jo, please. What can I do for you?” Stark rolled his eyes but didn’t comment. Pepper smiled at her, all cool professionalism, and took a sip of her coffee. 

“Tony has a board meeting on Monday. Is there any way that I can persuade you to make sure that he actually shows up this time?” Pepper was looking right at her, and Jo shifted a little in her seat. She’s here to be a bodyguard, not a secretary or assistant. 

“Can I use violence if he tries to resist?” This time when Pepper smiled at her, it was a real smile. Jo could even see the amusement shining in the woman’s pretty blue eyes. 

“You’re my bodyguard. I thought you were here to protect me?” Jo flicked her eyes over at Stark and tried to fight down her manic smile. 

“I’m here to keep you alive. A little maiming won’t kill ya, boss,” she said with a wink. Pepper laughed, Stark scowled, and Jo felt a little better about her decision. 

“Then it’s settled. You will be at the board meeting on Monday, and I will see you in two weeks.” Pepper was already standing up with a hand on Stark’s shoulder, so Jo hurriedly choked down her last bite of granola. 

“You’re leaving?” Jo’s gonna be left alone with Stark? She might actually kill him. 

“I’ve got some business to attend in DC. If it’s okay with you, I’ll call to check in?” Pepper was looking at her again.

“I am sitting right here. You’re touching me right now,” Stark piped up. Pepper looked down at him, ruffled his hair, and then turned back to Jo. 

“You will lie to me and tell me that you’ve been on your best behavior, and JARVIS will lie for you too. I need at least one person to be on my side,” Pepper said.

“I’m always on your side!”

“Don’t worry, Pepper, you can count on me.” Jo met Stark’s glare right on, because she’s not afraid of him. 

“Excellent! Try to behave.” Jo politely turned away as they said their goodbyes, and she waved to Pepper as she walked away. When she turned back around, Stark was glaring at her like she’d stomped on his toes and stole his favorite toy. 

“You’re my employee.” Jo leaned across the bar, just a little, and made sure to lock eyes with her boss. 

“Just doing what’s best for ya, boss.” She slipped off her stool and started for the doorway. “And let me know if ya plan on leaving!”

**January 27, 2014**

“Boss! Time to go!” Last Wednesday when she agreed to get Stark to his little meeting, she thought she was making an easy commitment. Stark’s a grown man after all, so how hard could it be to get him to a meeting? Then she got daily calls from Pepper, asking her if Stark had left his lab and if he was eating. Today was the worst one yet. The other woman had to talk Jo through picking a suit out for the man, because apparently he’s a giant two year old.

“The meeting isn’t until Monday,” Stark mumbled. He’s scribbling notes, in midair, and he looks kinda crazy. Did he bathe in grease?

“It is Monday. C’mon, you need to take a shower. There’s a suit on your bed, and I will be driving you.” Stark blinked at her like he was discovering light for the first time, and Jo shook her head. Clearly the man needs to be supervised at all times. 

“You’re wearing pants. Without holes in them.” Jo glanced down at her outfit and shrugged. She’s just wearing black skinny jeans, a green tank, and a black blazer. If she’s gonna be walking through Stark Industries, she wants to look a little nice. There’s always the possibility of someone wanting Stark dead though, so she’s staying away from pretty dresses and heels. 

“I plan on going out in public today, with you. Shower! Now!” Stark swiped his arm across his forehead and managed to smile at her. 

“You’re like a drill sergeant, but prettier.” Half of her wants to laugh, and the other half kinda wants to punch the smirk off his face. 

“You’d better be out of this lab before I decide to take that as an insult.”

“Whatever you say, sweetheart.” He stopped next to her for just a moment, and Jo tipped her head back just a bit to meet his eyes. She’s a little taller than most girls, but Stark is six-one. Jo gave him a little push, right between the shoulder blades, and Stark swaggered off. 

Once he was officially in his own room, Jo moved off to the kitchen. She’s been here less than a week, but she already has her favorite spots. Her ultimate favorite spot is the roof, where JARVIS helped her rig up a nice little resting space. Since the Malibu home is in the middle of nowhere, she’s been able to work on her tan without having to worry about peepers. The roof is tied with her shower, because Stark does not pull his punches when it comes to his house. Her second favorite place? The kitchen. It’s all big and modern, but she likes cooking when she’s bored and JARVIS is fast becoming her new bestie. He knows all the best recipes. 

As far as jobs go, this is probably her easiest one yet. Stark keeps to himself, and they’ve only crossed paths in the kitchen a handful of times. She’s not racing across a desert with assassins on her ass, getting her ass kicked in the freezing cold, or chasing after some asshole just so she can put an end to him. She gets to spend her days in a giant house, and she’s left alone to do whatever she wants. It’s nice. Stark is still an asshole most of the time, and she’s still a little miffed about being blown up by his brilliance. It could be worse though. 

“I have arrived!” She spoke too soon. Eh, at least he cleans up nice. “Tell me how amazing I look.”

“You’d look better with my foot up your ass.” Stark glared up at her, because she’s sitting on the kitchen counter eating an apple, and she grinned around an apple slice. 

“Kinky. I approve. Aren’t we supposed to be going somewhere?” Jo slipped off the counter, pulled some keys out of her pocket, and led the way out of the house. When Tony asked how she got the keys to a company car, her only answer was JARVIS. Then she shoved him into the backseat and played the part of chauffer. It’s not a shining moment for her, sure, but maybe she can get a raise out of it. She just really hopes that her two assassin friends never find out about this; she’ll never be able to live it down. 

“How long do these things usually last?” Jo whispered once they were in an elevator. She’s already gotten several long looks, not good ones, so she apparently didn’t dress as well as she thought. 

“Too long.” Stark hasn’t looked away from his phone since he got out of the car, and Jo’s starting to regret not bringing a book or something. She escorted Stark into the comically large conference room, ignored the looks from the other board members, and sat in a chair against the wall and directly behind Stark. 

The answer to her question should’ve been four hours. Four hours of a bunch of old men yelling at each other and Stark ignoring them all. Jo’s not even sure what they’re yelling about, and she’s got a feeling that they don’t know either. All in all, it’s been a complete waste of time. Stark hasn’t said a word, which is kinda odd since it’s his company and everything. At the end of the fourth hour, Stark stood up and said a few words. She kinda wished she’d been paying attention, because whatever he said made everyone go silent. 

“We’re leaving, sweetheart.” Jo flowed to her feet and followed after her boss, and she had to bite back her snicker at the shocked looks on everyone’s faces. She waited until they were out of the room to say anything though. 

“What’d you say to them?” Stark hasn’t taken his phone out yet, so he was able to look over at her. 

“You were in the room.” 

“I tuned out about five minutes in.” He looks confused that she was able to ignore him. He probably doesn’t get that a lot. People ignoring him, that is. 

“They think doing clean energy is the wrong business to be in. They prefer the old ways,” Stark grumbled. 

“The old ways, huh? Making the big guns and killing innocent people? It does bring in more money.” Stark snorted at that but didn’t say anything. “You’re doing the right thing, boss. And fuck everyone who thinks otherwise.”

“You’re a strange woman, Holbrook.”

“Right back atcha, Stark.” They were walking across the lobby, and Jo was finding it easier to walk even with all the people staring at them. 

“You got shot in the head,” Stark pointed out.

“You fly around in a tin can,” she shot back. Stark was probably getting ready to argue with her, his mouth was open anyway, but he never got the chance. 

A swarm of red pushed at her mental barrier, and the fire of the person’s rage was so hot that she felt crispy. Stark was staring at her, and she knew she had to act fast. Jo pushed him to the ground with a solid kick to the back of his knee, and she rocked back on her heels as a bullet tore through her chest. The people around them screamed and began running once they realized she’d been shot, and Jo nudged Stark back to his feet. She kept him bent down so she could stand in front of him, and she took two more hits before she got him into the company car. A fourth bullet entered her right temple as she was getting into the car, and she slid behind the wheel with blood still dripping down her face. Normally she’d go after the person shooting her, but Stark is her first priority. 

“What the hell was that?!” Stark was hanging over the middle of the seats, and she glanced at him as she weaved between traffic. 

“That’s a good question.” She managed to get her phone out without wrecking, and she ignored Stark’s rambling as she listened to the phone ring. 

“What?!” 

“Don’t _what_ me, Fury! Someone just tried to shoot Stark and got me instead! Why wasn’t I informed that someone was making a move on him?” Stark was finally silent, so she was able to hear Fury’s quiet sigh.

“We thought the threat was eliminated,” Fury finally said. Jo tightened her grip on the wheel and took a moment to just breathe before replying. 

“I should’ve been told that there was a threat. If I hadn’t heard the shooter’s thoughts, the world would be short a Stark.” She could feel eyes on her, but she was focusing on the road. To be honest, she’s not gonna feel safe until they’re back in the Malibu home. It’s a pretty house, and it’s also built like a small fortress. JARVIS walked her through the house plans and safety protocols. 

“Did you get a read on him?” 

“Nope. Just felt a lot of rage, so I’m guessing it’s personal. Care to elaborate?” 

“Yeah, Fury. I, for one, would like to know who is trying to kill me,” Stark added. 

“A lot of people want you dead.” Jo agreed with that. There are a lot of people out there who are not Stark fans. 

“For what? I’m a changed man!”

“You changing into a somewhat better person does not bring people back from the dead. Eris, I’ll put Romanoff on the case and keep you updated.”

“That’s all I want, sir. I’ll expect a file before the night is over, and there’s holes in my favorite blazer.” With that, she hung up and stuffed her phone back into her pocket. She glared at Stark until he moved back to his proper seat, and she’s pretty sure she heard the click of a seatbelt. Maybe she should slow down. 

They got back to the Malibu house in record time, and Jo politely asked JARVIS to enact the safety protocols while Stark watched on. Then she marched to her room and glared down at her new blazer. She’s even got blood in her hair! She was standing in the bathroom, wiping the blood off her temple, when she registered a presence in the doorway. Her glance in the mirror showed Stark leaning against the doorway, in just his super expensive slacks and the black button-up. The sleeves were rolled up now, and it looks like he’s been running his fingers through his hair.

“You saved my life.”

“Kinda my job, boss. Nothing to worry about.” She turned to face him with her fists propped on her hips, and Stark slowly looked her over. Took in the blood splatters on her green tank and the blood still in her hair.

“You got shot, for me.”

“Four times. Five, if you count the time that Natasha shot me to prove a point. Look, boss, don’t worry about it. I knew this was an inevitably when I took the job, and I’m fine. All healed up.” She patted her ribcage, where there was a small hole and an impressive spatter that looked like a Pollock painting. 

“Miss Potts is on the line, sir.” Jo looked at the ceiling as Stark pulled his phone out, and she turned her back to walk further into the bathroom. She could barely hear Stark’s footsteps as he left the room, but she let her shoulders slump the tiniest bit once he was gone. 

Her mind still feels raw from the onslaught earlier. Whoever did the shooting was seriously pissed off, and she can still feel that rage slithering around inside her head. She hates her telepathy, hates using it, so it’s hard to shake off when things break through. She’s going to feel off-balance for days, but it’s worth it. Stark might have a few bumps and bruises, but he’s alive. She wants to have a few more words with Fury though. If he knew someone was going to come after Stark, he should have told her. How’s she supposed to keep him alive if she doesn’t know about the people coming after him?

“Miss Jo? I have prepared a bath for you.” She smiled at the ceiling and felt her body relax a little bit more. 

“You’re the best, JARVIS. Literally, the best. You need me to kill anyone for you?”

“That is very kind of you, Miss Jo, but no. Enjoy your soak.”

She got shot, but she’s got a Jacuzzi. Life could always be worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title credit for this story goes to _Glory and Gore_ by Lorde.
> 
> The mutant that Jo was talking to was, of course, Wolverine. I can't write a story about mutants and not bring up Wolverine. He'll be mentioned throughout, so if you're a fan, you'll get to see more of him! As for the mutant timeline, it's been changed from what's in the movies. (And what's in the comics.) It'll be explained as the story goes along.
> 
> For anyone that's curious, I picture Jo as Evangeline Lilly. That's whose picture is used in the banner at the top, along with Mark Ruffalo. I do not own either image.


	2. Secret Friendship Handshake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
> _you've been drinking like the world was gonna end_  
>  _(it didn't)_  
>  **Glory and Gore by Lorde**  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small warning: there is some physical (and possible verbal/emotional) abuse in this chapter.

**February 6, 2014**

Jo woke up with the sun, which isn’t uncommon. She has nights where she sleeps more than anyone should, and sometimes she struggles through a few hours of sleep before calling it quits. She tried knitting for an hour, kept poking herself, and decided to go on the roof. There’s something about feeling the sun on her skin that settles her, so laying on the roof for a couple of hours was just what the mutant ordered. JARVIS even put on some music for her and talked her through some yoga poses to keep her limber. She likes that AI system more than pretty much every person on the planet.

“Miss Jo, Miss Potts would like to have a word.”

“Yeah, of course.” Pepper came back yesterday, and Jo made sure to give the couple their space. She was just getting to her feet when the door leading to the roof opened, and she jogged over to where Pepper was standing. “Hey, Pepper. Whatcha need?”

“I just, I have a small favor to ask of you.” Now that she was close enough, she could see the redness of Pepper’s eyes and the way her hands were shaking. 

“Is everything okay? Want me to kick Stark’s ass?” Pepper’s laugh seemed to shake too, and Jo shuffled on her feet a little. Comfort is not really her thing. She’s a rough kind of girl, but she doesn’t like the look in Pepper’s eyes. 

“Thank you for looking after him.” The other woman looked on the verge of tears, and Jo took another step forward. Pepper raised her hand, which made Jo freeze. “Tony and I have decided to have some time apart. Maybe forever, I don’t know, but I can’t—”

“It’s okay, Pepper. I think I get it. You’re worried about what happened last week, right? You don’t have to worry. I’ll keep Stark safe.”

“It’s not just last week. It’s the Extremis, SHIELD, aliens…just, everything. I need some time alone, and I really think he does too. Just promise me something?” Pepper is obviously torn up about this, but she’s serious and determined. 

“Yeah, sure.” Stark might be an ass, but Pepper is a good person. Jo’s done her research, so she knows that Pepper has somehow managed to be both strong and kind. It’s impressive. 

“Take care of him for me.” It wasn’t even a question, but it’s not a demand either. It was something in between, and Jo suddenly realized that she was nodding. 

“I’ll keep him in one piece. Are you still gonna call for check ins?” 

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea. Thank you, Jo.” She was still standing in the same place when the door closed behind Pepper, and she lightly pinched the bridge of her nose. 

“Where’s Stark at, JARVIS?”

“He’s currently in his lab, Miss Jo. Should I direct you?” Yeah, she should probably make sure he was okay. Him being in the lab is the norm, but Stark is a genius and capable of so many things. 

“That would be great, buddy.” She’s not really sure why the Malibu house is so big, but whatever. JARVIS is the best, so he managed to get her right where she needed to be. Stark was bent over a hunk of metal and muttering to himself like a crazy person, and Jo slowly moved farther into the room. It looks like a tornado hit the place. 

“Oh, it’s just you.” Stark’s bloodshot eyes met hers, and Jo mentally prepared herself for what’s to come. She might not be Stark’s number one fan, but heartache sucks. Today, she’s gonna suck it up and be a friend. 

“Sorry to disappoint, boss. How ya holding up?” She plopped herself onto a stool and rolled herself over to the billionaire’s side with all the dignity she has left; she’s rolling on a stool in her PJs, which consist of some ratty old sweatpants and a bleach stained tank top. Her dignity is long gone. 

“Drink?” Stark held out a bottle of Scotch, expensive going by the smell, and Jo arched a brow. 

“It’s ten in the morning,” she pointed out. Oh, wow, she’s going to get drunk just off the fumes wafting from that bottle. 

“It’s ten at night in Calcutta,” Stark countered. She couldn’t even think of what to say. For one, what does that have to do with anything? For two, how does he even know that?

“Ah, fuck it. Special circumstances.” Stark cheered as she took the bottle from him, and Jo said a silent prayer as she tipped her head back to guzzle the liquor down. The bottle made an impressive thumping sound when she set it down, and she had to swipe her hand across her lips as she sucked in a deep breath. She hasn’t drank like that in about a year. She’s really gotta get back to Amsterdam. “Alright, boss, what are ya working on?”

“The single greatest creation of ever!” 

“Let’s hear all about it then.” 

As Stark explained his current experiment, Jo’s pretty sure he’s making a sentient toaster but whatever, she peeked at his thoughts. She doesn’t like the telepathy, it’s too intrusive and violates people’s right to privacy, but she wants to make sure her boss is going to be okay. Since he’s thinking about his work, Stark’s thoughts are like a hurricane. It’s hard to pinpoint any one thought, because there are so many. Jo’s not sure how the man doesn’t have a constant headache. The Pepper thoughts are there, along with the pain that comes with a breakup, but it’s buried under a haze of liquor and equations. She could dig deeper, but she’s not really comfortable with that. 

She let Stark talk himself out and gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze before showing herself out. The dude just got dumped, so he’s allowed to wallow in liquor and metal for a little while. If the kitchenware starts rebelling though, she’s gonna have to put the billionaire in a timeout. Stopping a robot rebellion is not in her job description…well, except for that one time. That was totally an isolated incident though. Jo felt a little bit better by the time she got to her room, and she picked up her knitting needles with a smile. She’s gotta finish Logan’s mittens.

**February 9, 2014**

_“How do we know if she’s strong enough?” one man asked._

_“She survived the accident without a scratch,” another man said._

_“Proves nothing,” said the third._

_“Then we’ll have to test her, won’t we?” asked the fourth._

_**WAKE UP!** _

Jo’s eyes flew open as she sat up, and she pushed her hair out of her face. What the hell was that? The dream was normal, but that super loud mental wakeup call? That’s new. She let her mind expand to see if something in the house woke her up, but everything was quiet. If there was someone else in the house, she’d hear them. Hell, she can barely hear Stark’s sluggish thoughts, so he’s obviously not alarmed about anything. Everything’s been quiet and peaceful in the three days since Pepper left, so…what just happened?

“JARVIS?” Fuck, her voice sounds like shit. Water would be good. Lots of water. Her knees and spine popped as she stood up, and she twisted her head to get her neck to crack as well. She’s carrying way too much tension. 

“Did you need something, Miss Jo?”

“Is Tony still in the lab?” His thoughts are sluggish and far away, and she hasn’t seen the guy since the day Pepper left. Her feet shuffled across the floor, and she forced her arms up so she could put her long hair up. If she leaves it down, it’ll get in her way and make her sweaty. 

“Master Stark has not left the lab since the last time you saw him, Miss Jo.” Stark has been in the lab for three days? No, wait, he was probably there right before Pepper left too. That’s four days in the lab. 

“At all? Has he slept? Ate? Showered?”

“Master Stark has not left to sleep or shower. Does Cragganmore count as a meal?”

“That’s insanely expensive scotch, right?”

“Yes, miss.”

“Then, no, it definitely does not count. What am I gonna do with the boss man, JARVIS?” Jo’s long legs were already eating up the distance between her room and the lab, and she growled insults under her breath as she power walked. Not insults at Stark, oh no. Insults at herself. What kind of telepathic bodyguard lets her boss fall this far without noticing a damn thing? Yeah, she’s not the guy’s biggest fan, but that doesn’t mean she can just abandon the fucking guy. 

“Whatever you deem right, Miss Jo.” Jo pushed her way into the lab and stopped just inside to assess the situation. 

_“Holy fuck,”_ was her first coherent thought. She’s not even all the way into the lab and can already smell the expensive scotch Stark’s been choking back for days. Speaking of the genius, he was slumped over a table with his eyes barely open. Jo walked over to his side and fought the urge to pinch her nose. Yeah, he definitely hasn’t left in days. 

“Boss? Can ya hear me?” He lifted a hand to wave her away and then let his arm flop down beside him. This is so not good. First things first, the guy really needs a shower. He smells like a dumpster. “Alright, boss, you brought this on yourself.”

“Mfmgrl.” Jo ignored whatever-the-hell-that was and bent down to throw the guy over her shoulder in a fireman’s carry. Stark is a good six inches taller than her, but if he’s not even coherent then there’s no way that he’s gonna be able to walk. It’s a good thing she’s inhumanly strong. She listened as he groaned every time she took a step, and she just prayed that he didn’t puke on her. She might deserve it, but she’d rather avoid that particular mess. They reached his room in record time, and she was almost to the connecting bathroom when his voice called out. 

“Not here!” Not in his own bedroom? She let her mind open and probed gently at his thoughts. There’s something about Stark that’s making her drop her usual barriers so that can peek into his whirlwind thoughts. Right now, he’s thinking about Pepper and how he doesn’t want to be in _their_ room without her. Makes sense. Jo inched over to the giant dresser, snagged some clothes that looked somewhat appropriate, and went to where the guest bedrooms are. They had just made it into Jo’s bathroom when Tony started to cough, and Jo dropped the small handful of clothes and Tony in record time. She had the billionaire on his knees in front of the toilet before the third cough, and it was just in time too. Jo’s nose wrinkled as Stark threw up four days’ worth of a drinking binge, and she lightly rubbed a hand across his heaving back. 

“Feelin’ better, boss?” she asked once the stream stopped. 

“Lee’m’lone.” She’s pretty sure that he just told her to leave him alone. Pretty sure. 

“Can you stand and shower on your own?” Tony huffed, which she took as a no. Seeing as how the guy currently has his face pressed against the place where her ass takes up residence from time to time, she feels like it’s safe to say that he can’t stand on his own. This is going to fucking suck; she so didn’t sign up for this. With one last sigh, Jo got to her feet and pulled her sleeping shirt over her head. She’s still wearing the sports bra she did her yoga in before passing out and a pair of panties, and she’s keeping those on. Stark was still laying on her toilet, so she moved over to the shower to get it started. It’s just a standing shower with no actual tub, that’s in another part of the bathroom, but a shower is all she needs. Once the water was warmed up, she bent down and yanked Stark’s shirt off. 

“Hands off!” His thoughts were opaque at this point, and she rolled her eyes at where he thought this was going. Like she’d want to get it on with a dude with barf breath? She has standards, okay? Also, he’s drunk enough that his bloodstream could start its own brewery. She might have a strange moral code, but taking advantage of a drunk person is always wrong. 

“Trust me, boss, I’m gonna enjoy this less than you are. You need to shower though. You’re starting to smell like shit bakin’ in the sun.” His dulled eyes tried to glare, but it didn’t really work. Jo bent a little more to tug at his pants, and she somehow managed to get him stripped bare without killing either of them. Probably because Stark was going commando. 

“Mmm, too cold,” he mumbled once she got them into the shower. Only Tony Stark could be dead drunk and still find a way to complain about the water temperature. Jo cranked the heat and then smiled when Stark yelped a little at the sting. Serves the bastard right. Jo would’ve preferred to just rinse him off and be done with it, but there was no way that was going to work. His hair is literally caked in grease, so shampoo first. 

“Don’t worry, it’s all eco-friendly,” she mumbled as she worked the lather into his hair with one hand. Her other arm was busy actually holding the guy up, and he wasn’t helping with all of his squirming. 

“Sir, Dr. Banner is on the line. Should I put him through?”

“NO!”

“YES!” Jo’s command was overridden by Stark’s, and a quiet click sounded over the water. Who calls at four in the morning anyway?

“Uh, Tony?” Jo rolled her eyes at the sound of the tentative voice. Poor bastard doesn’t know what he’s in for. 

“Bruce! Guess where I am!” Jo shoved his head under the water and started washing the soapy lather out. 

“Sorry, uh, Doc? Tony’s had a little too much to drink. I’m just trying to hose him down and get him to bed. Can he call you back later?” she rushed out. Stark was sputtering and wiggling around to get out of the spray, but his legs weren’t cooperating to hold him up. When this is all over, she’s asking for a raise. A big one. 

“You’re not Pepper.”

“I’m Jo, Tony’s bodyguard. I promise that I’m not doing anything unprofessional, and, if we’re being honest, there’s a long list of women who have seen Tony Stark naked. One more isn’t that big of a deal.” There was a quiet chuckle over the line, and Jo finally pulled Stark’s head out from under the water. 

“Pepper left me.” Tony said it like a petulant child, with his bottom lip poked out and everything, but Jo could feel the very adult pain pounding away at his skull. 

“I’m very sorry to hear that, Tony.” Well, it looks like Stark really does have a friend! She was starting to wonder. 

“Sh-she said that, that I’m, she’s…it wasn’t workin’ for her,” Tony managed to slur out. Jo tried to balance her boss as she lathered up a sponge (not her favorite one) and started bathing him down. 

“And now you’re gonna smell like happiness, which smells like orange blossoms,” she mumbled as she started washing him. 

“Bruce? Jo’s makin’ me smell girly,” Tony said with a pout. 

“I’m sure you smell lovely, Tony,” the nice man said. 

“Yeah, so quit your pouting. This is not how I wanted to spend my morning either. Uh, Doc? He’ll call you back later, okay?”

“Yes, okay. Thank you for taking care of him.”

“Just doin’ my job.” There was another click, signaling that the call was over, and Jo sighed in relief. Tony giggled quietly as she washed the inside of his right thigh, and she really didn’t need to know her boss’s ticklish spots. Really didn’t. 

Ten minutes later, Stark was clean, dry, and in clothes that didn’t smell like a pig sty. His other clothes need to be burned. She’ll get right on that the next time she wakes up. Jo drug the now snoring man into her room and let him flop down onto her bed. After all that, she’s fucking exhausted. She slipped into a clean pair of panties, the boxer kind, and grabbed her sleeping shirt from the bathroom. After slipping it on, she fell down onto the bed next to where her boss was drooling on her pillow. Yeah, she’s definitely asking for a raise. A really big one. Maybe a paid vacation.

**.xXx.**

_It is cold. It is dark. Then the sky lights up brighter than any Fourth of July, and it’s all over. Falling, falling, falling…it’s so hot, and it’s all over. Accept it. Accept it. It’s all over. No more parties. No more press. No more worrying about whether or not shrapnel is gonna tear through my heart and put an end to everything. No more nightmares about dark caves, white sand, and it’s so **hot**._

**.xXx.**

Jo woke up covered in a cold sweat with a scream lodged in her throat that was not from one of her nightmares. Her nightmares are all bright lights and slick blood, but that doesn’t make the fear shaking her bones any less real. She was reaching across the bed without another thought, and a quick slap snapped Stark’s eyes wide open. Bloodshot, nearly black, eyes met hers in a startled panic. Good. He feels just as off-kilter as she does. Fuck! She’s never been good at controlling the telepathy when she’s sleeping; it was one of the things that made sleepovers so hard.

“What the hell? Why are you in my bed?”

“Not your bed, boss.” He blinked, scrubbed the back of his hand across his mouth, and swore like a sailor. Jo was impressed. She could feel his mind flicking through the night’s previous memories, so he’s one of the few people who can remember everything no matter how drunk they get. She can sympathize with that. 

“Do not ever do that again. Do you understand me?” Dark green eyes were covered in a slow blink, and Jo reached up a hand to scrub through her fallen hair. 

“Are you shittin’ me right now, boss? I carried your drunk ass outta the lab, kept you from drowning in my toilet, and I fuckin’ washed the stink off of you. And all you have to say is, never do that again?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. If someone tries to shoot me in the head, get off your ass and save me. If I’m happily drunk in my lab, _leave me there_.” The last three words were said with so much heat that Jo had to give herself a pat down after he stormed out to see if she had sunburn. 

“You got it, boss.”

**February 24, 2014**

“Still alive, boss?!”

“Fuck off!”

**March 8, 2014**

“Hey, boss, I just pulled a homemade pizza outta the oven. Want some?”

“Do I look like a child to you? I can get my own food. Now get out!”

**March 30, 2014**

“How long has it been this time, JARVIS?”

“Nine consecutive days, Miss Jo.”

**April 2, 2014**

“Do you think I’m a complete and utter failure, Logan?”

“I think you’re living with an idiot, kid.”

**April 10, 2014**

“Boss? Natasha and Clint are coming for a visit tomorrow.”

Jo dodged a flying projectile as Stark yelled at her again, and she shook her head as she left the lab. Stark’s hopeless. Or is she?

**April 11, 2014**

“Clint! Thank God you’re here! And Natasha! Lovely as always,” Jo grinned.

“Don’t make me shoot you again.” Natasha’s smile was sweet and deadly, and Jo slung an arm around the archer’s shoulders. 

“Is she really gonna shoot me?” Jo stage-whispered. Natasha’s own green eyes narrowed as Jo’s twinkled, and Clint hid his face behind Jo’s massive weight of hair. 

“Probably.” Jo shrugged and accepted the fact that a bullet would probably tear through her brain before the night was over. Eh, whatever makes Natasha happy. Jo was still trying to catalog their stock of cleaning supplies, to get the bloodstains out, when Natasha pushed a box into her arms. 

“Uh, what’s this?” The box looked plain enough, but it could be anything. Like a bomb. Would Natasha give her a bomb?

“A replacement blazer,” was Natasha’s simple answer. 

“Fury said the case was closed over a month ago.” Natasha raised one shoulder in a very elegant shrug, so Jo let it go and started leading them to the main living room. Or is it a den? Whatever. 

“Where’s Tony?” Jo picked up on the use of a first name and raised a brow at Natasha. Interesting. 

“Boss has locked himself in his lab and refuses to come out. I told him y’all were stopping by, and he asked me to please leave him in peace for the night,” Jo said dutifully. What Tony had actually slurred while throwing a hunk of metal at her face was, “I don’t give a fuck and all of you better stay the fuck away from my lab!” Apparently, the billionaire caught a case of sailor mouth when he was six sheets to the wind. Six, because three sheets was three weeks ago. 

“How long has he been in there?” Jo looked over at Natasha, who was seated on the chair across from her. Clint was sprawled on the same couch as Jo with his propped up in her lap. 

“This time? Five days. Honestly though, he hasn’t really come out since Pepper left.”

“That was two months ago,” Clint pointed out. Not that it was needed. Jo knows exactly how long it’s been, because she’s been stuck in a silent house with a drunk. Whenever she goes down to the lab and tries to talk the idiot into eating, or drinking something that won’t poison his liver, or showering the stink off, or maybe just taking a nap that isn’t alcohol induced…he shouts his abuse until she huffs and walks away. On particularly bad days, he likes to throw things and then she has to walk away before the bodyguard kills the man she’s supposed to protect. 

“Don’t give me that look, Nat.” The redhead is currently glaring holes straight through her, like it’s her fault that Stark went crazy. “I’ve tried everything. The one time I actually pulled him out of the lab and cleaned him up, he told me to stay away. I don’t know what else to do.”

“I’ll go talk to him.” Jo tilted her head back to watch the redhead sashay away and then glanced down the couch at her favorite archer. 

“That’s the person you’ve chosen to love for all eternity?” Clint wiggled his toes, and Jo rolled her eyes to show her annoyance before she started massaging his feet. She and Natasha might not see eye-to-eye, ever, but Clint and Jo get along just fine. 

“Love isn’t a choice.”

“So you wouldn’t choose her?” Clint’s eyes met hers, and Jo shot him a toothy grin. 

“I’d choose her every time.” Jo rolled her eyes again and just kept her fingers moving. Twenty minutes later, the two of them were laughing over an old episode of Teen Titans when Natasha strolled back in. She sat down in the same chair, crossed her legs, crossed her arms, and scowled at the TV screen. 

“Did he yell at you too?” Jo suddenly asked. That’s gotta be why Natasha looks so…pretzel like. 

“Let me know when he’s sober.” Clint and Jo shared a look before looking over at the redhead. In tandem, they asked, “Why?” Natasha didn’t answer; she just smiled. Then again, that’s answer enough.

**April 13, 2014**

For the past two days, all Jo has been able to think about is her idiotic boss down in his basement lab drinking himself into an early grave. She’s read his file, quite extensively, so she knows what he’s thinking about. The telepathy doesn’t hurt either, since she’s kept her barriers down. He’s upset over Pepper, but that’s the obvious answer. The first person he ever loved, at least romantically, left him. That stings, of course it does. That’s not where the story stops though. No, Tony Stark isn’t just heartbroken. Tony Stark is scared. Fuck that. Tony Stark is fucking _terrified_. In the midst of all the heartbreak, there’s fear. So much fear that even Jo can feel her heart skip a beat whenever she looks inside.

Apparently, Stark has spent so much time just focusing on Pepper and that shred of happiness that he’s completely ignored everything else. From what Jo has been able to pick up, Stark hasn’t dealt with anything that’s happened to him since he decided to rehabilitate his image. It’s all been festering deep down inside, and it’s spilling out through the cracks. When Stark passes out, Jo gets to relive every horrible thing that’s happened to the man in the past several years. When Stark is awake, his mind is whirring so fast that she can’t concentrate on any one thought. She’s pretty sure he can’t either, because he’s trying his damnedest to drown out his fears and is instead just drowning. And she’s drowning right along with him. 

He is scared of Afghanistan, of dark caves and his heart struggling to beat. _(It was his bomb, his tech, that killed so many people…that killed him.)_ He is scared of the people he trusts; the ones who can get close and rip his heart out. _(He can’t move, can’t talk, can barely even breathe and Obadiah is holding his heart, because the arc reactor is his heart now, and he’s going to die.)_ He is scared of New York, with the gaping hole into another universe that can trap him forever and the falling. _(It’s cold, it’s hot, it’s dark, it’s so **bright**.)_ He is scared of the people that he’s wronged, of people that can hurt him and people that can hurt her. _(It’s a good thing she left, maybe she’ll be safe now.)_

Jo’s never been the comforting type, but this has gotta stop. Stark is still an asshole, but she respects the man now. Funny how that works. She had to see just how fucked up the man was before deciding that he wasn’t all that bad. Stark has been torn open and his fear is bleeding out all over both of them. This ends. Tonight. 

“JARVIS? How forgiving would you say Stark is?” Jo asked the ceiling. She’s standing in the center of her room, wearing nothing but a faded green tank top and a pair of bright pink boxer panties. 

“Not very, miss.” Jo nodded her head, she’d figured as much, as she started twisting her hair up on top of her head. 

“How about his policy on violence?” Jo doesn’t know how to console people, but she does know about being so scared that it eats you from the inside out. She’s got a strong feeling that Stark needs a friend and a long cuddle, but he’s not ready for that yet. So she’s gonna do what she does best. She’s gonna kick some ass. 

“He’s not against it.”

“Good enough. Wish me luck, JARVIS.”

“Good luck, miss.” Jo grinned at the ceiling as she walked down the hallway, and she mentally prepared herself as she stormed into the lab. This is the worst plan she’s ever come up with, it’s going to hurt, but it had damned well better fucking work. 

“Stark!” Dark green eyes watched as the muscles around a protruding spine tensed, and she swallowed against the lump in her throat. Holy fuck, Stark is thin. When she turned her head, she could see the way his ribs popped against the tight shirt he was wearing. 

“Get out.” He didn’t even bother to shout, and he just sounds fucking exhausted. The smell of cheap booze was heavy in the air, so he’s apparently so far gone that he doesn’t even care about what he’s drinking anymore. Whatever will get the job done is good enough now. 

“Get off your ass, Stark. You need to get cleaned up, eat a little something, and then sleep for a week. Come on, I’ll help you.” The man spun around on the stool he was perched on, and Jo took a step forward as he wobbled to the side. He managed to right himself, and Jo let her arm fall back to her side. 

“Are you deaf or something? Is super hearing not one of your superpowers?” His skin is waxy and pale, from the horrible diet and lack of sunshine. Probably from not bathing regularly too. He looked like he was sunken in on himself, a shadow of the real Tony Stark, and there were dark bruises under his bloodshot eyes. 

“Nope, just normal hearing. Ready to go?” His chapped lips pulled into a thin line, and Jo could feel the angry snarl of his mind. He wants to be left alone, but the asshole’s been alone for two months. 

“Get out.”

“Or what?” Jo crossed her arms and locked her legs, and then immediately tried not to think about how ridiculous she must look in her tank top and panties. Whatever. Proper intervention attire doesn’t exist. 

“I’ll fire you.”

“Sorry, boss. Unless you’re in your right mind, I can’t accept that. When you’re sober and not starving, I might let you fire me. Now, are you ready to go?” His eyes were unwavering, despite the constant intoxication, so Jo shrugged and stalked forward. 

“Don’t you dare—” Jo grabbed a handful of his shirt at the shoulder and yanked him to his feet, and Stark predictably pushed her away once he was standing. She let him remove her hand, but she didn’t back away. 

“I am tired of the drunken slurs and wondering if you’re even alive. Do you know why I took this job, Stark?” She’s got a feeling that his brown eyes are really pretty when they’re not surrounded by broken blood vessels. 

“Don’t know. Don’t care.” They’re standing pretty close. Close enough for her to smell…more than she wants to. 

“I took it because I decided the world was better off with you still in it, despite your many fuckups. I didn’t like you, but you’re worth saving. At least, you were. Lately, you’re just a waste of space.” That last part is a little harsh, but she’s trying to piss him off. If there’s one thing she’s learned over the years, it’s that a good ol’ fashioned fight is good for clearing the mind. 

“Then why are you still here?” His words came out in a near growl, and Jo took a step forward. 

“Funny, I’ve been asking myself that for weeks. Maybe it’s because I don’t want your death on my conscience.” Stark’s eyes narrowed, and Jo took a deep breath. “Or maybe I’m still here because I promised Pepper I’d look after your ass. I’m starting to see why she left.”

“Leave.” Stark is furious; it’s beating away behind his eyes and tightening his fists, but he won’t lay a hand on her. Damn chivalry. Alright, looks like it’s up to her. 

“One last thing.” Stark raised a brow in question, and Jo’s hips moved with the punch she delivered to the man’s jaw. Stark’s head snapped back, and Jo’s knuckles throbbed. She thought it would take a little more prompting, maybe some hair pulling, but Stark bounced back with a punch that nearly knocked a tooth out. 

Jo threw out another punch, and the fight was on. Stark’s mind was pulsing red, so much red that he wasn’t even thinking about what he was doing. He didn’t even see Jo. He couldn’t see anything past the fear and rage driving him. Jo relaxed her body and let her boss wail on her from then on. She doesn’t actually want to hurt Stark; she just needed to get him riled up enough to let go on his own. And for someone that’s malnourished, sleep deprived, and drunk, Stark packs one helluva punch. Bones cracked and splintered under the constant pressure, and blood dripped down to stain the floor. The hits were constant, and Jo just let it happen. This is what she wanted to happen, and it’ll all be worth it in the end. Because what happens when all the rage has burned out?

“Why!” A fist cracked her fifth rib on the left side. _(Fight back!)_

“Won’t!” Another fist rocked her head to the side and made her right ear start ringing. _(Quit looking at me!)_

“You!” A direct hit to the sternum had her coughing and wheezing. _(Over the heart.)_

“Leave!” A metal table broke her nose as her face was slammed into it. _(Do something! Anything!)_

“Me!” Her feet slid on a fallen bottle, and a groan was pushed out as her back connected with another table. _(Stay down!)_

“Alone!” Knuckles split her lips, and she sputtered as she gulped down fresh blood. A callused hand wrapped tight around her throat and squeezed, and fiery bloodshot eyes stared down into hers. Jo raised a hand to wrap her fingers around a too thin wrist, and she used the hold to pull herself up and suck in a breath. Her chest burned as it expanded, and her nose was clogged with blood. She’s taken worse beatings over the years, a helluva lot worse, but that doesn’t mean that Stark’s beating doesn’t still hurt like a bitch. Worst plan ever. 

“Because someone has to take care of your stubborn ass.” Jo tried to smile, she really did, but the cuts on her lips and cheeks split open and ruined the everything’s-okay effect she was going for. Tony shook his head, like he was trying to clear it, and it surprisingly worked. Jo listened in as the rage died down and was swept away. Of course, without the rage clouding his judgment, Stark was starting to realize what had just happened. He could see her again. 

“I didn’t mean to—” And there was the guilt, which was quickly cut off as Jo slapped a hand over his mouth. 

“Don’t worry about it, Stark. I knew this was gonna happen when I came down here; I hit you first, remember? You’ve been hiding down here for weeks and bottling everything up. It was time to get it all out, and I’ll be fine. I’ll be all healed up and lookin’ pretty by tomorrow morning, but you gotta stop doin’ this to yourself. You’re killin’ yourself, boss.” To Jo’s surprise, she was crying. A few little tears slipped down her cheeks, and she watched Stark’s eyes track their trails. His mouth opened and closed, and Jo could practically taste the pain in Stark’s thoughts now. The rage was completely burned out. 

“I don’t—”

“C’mere.” Jo tangled her fingers in the greasy mess of his hair and lowered his head to the top of her chest. She’s well-endowed (and damn proud of it!), and she knows the calming effect that a good girly hug can have on some people. Sure enough, Stark slumped against her beaten body. Hot tears ran down her bare skin as Stark cried in silence, and Jo let her own quiet tears fall into the man’s greasy hair. She might’ve come into this job not liking Stark, but the man is falling the fuck apart. She’s been privy to his worst fears for the past two months, and she’s starting to feel a little protective over the asshole. 

“What is wrong with me?” he suddenly groaned out. His hot breath hit the cooling tear tracks, and Jo shivered lightly in his arms. Her several injuries did not thank her for the movement. 

“You’re fucked up, Stark.” She felt a huff against her wet skin but managed to control the chills this time. 

“Thanks. Great pep talk.”

“We’re all a little fucked up, yours is just showing. Don’t worry, I’ll get ya back in fightin’ form.”

“I just kicked your ass.” He pulled back enough to look at her, and Jo let her hand fall from his hair to his face. She gently wiped the sweat from his cheeks and smiled. (Not the tears, because Tony Stark doesn’t cry.)

“I wasn’t fighting back. Now, let’s go get cleaned up. Can you walk?”

“I think so.” He was a little wobbly, so Jo followed him to his room. She didn’t leave until she heard the shower start and then wandered off to her own room. Stark isn’t the only one that needs to get cleaned up.

**.xXx.**

When Tony stepped out of his steamy bathroom, in nothing but a pair of loose pajama pants, he found his bodyguard sitting cross-legged on his bed. Her hair had been put up again, because he’d pulled it loose earlier. She cleaned all the blood off, and she’s wearing gray sweatpants and a blue tank top. She looked up when she heard him enter, and Tony waited for the floor to open up and swallow him whole. He’s never really been a violent person, he’s always used his words as weapons, and he’s never done anything like this. Mutant or not, Jo is still a woman and he…Did he really do that to her?

Her nose still looks broken, and dark bruises moved to cover the space under her eyes. Deep cuts showed on her cheeks, and her swollen lips were split in three different places. There were even more bruises on her arms, and he’d bet money that her ribs are just as dark. There was a circular bruise over her sternum, right above the swell of her breasts, and a few of her fingers were bent at odd angles. He stopped next to the bed right in front of her, and she tipped her face back to look up at him. The move showed off the bruises on her throat, where he choked her. A single finger traced over the inflamed marks, and a callused hand gripped his wrist to stop him. 

“Ya gotta stop worryin’ about it so much, Tony,” she whispered in that rough voice of hers. Why is her voice so rough? And she speaks in a slow drawl, so is she from one of the southern states? He’s never asked; she’s still a complete stranger to him. 

“You called me Tony.” That made her smile, and she sucked back the bead of blood that welled up on her bottom lip at the stretch. 

“Yeah, well, a right hook is like a secret friendship handshake to me.”

“You’re deranged.”

“I’m not the only one, so let’s talk about you for a second. You’ve gotta stop this.” Her dark green eyes were pleading up at him, and he had a vague recollection of Natasha saying something similar a couple of days ago. 

“Well, you’re gonna have to help me.”

“What can I do?” She was asking for instructions, and Tony pulled in a deep breath. This is not going to be easy, but it’s the right decision. Looking at Jo’s bruised face is enough to reassure him of that. Even now, he can feel the heat from the bruises on her throat under his palm. 

“Get rid of the booze in the house and don’t let me get anymore. Shove food down my throat. Sneak sleeping pills into said food. Do whatever it takes and ignore most of what I say.”

“That won’t be a problem.” She grinned up at him and then removed his hand from her throat. “And now, it’s bedtime.” Barely a minute later, he was buried under his blankets and blinking sleepily at the woman silhouetted in his doorway. 

“Thank you, Jo.” It’s the first time he’s called her by her name, and it’s too bad that he can’t see her expression. 

“Just doing my job. G’night, Tony.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter might be a little controversial, because of what happened between Tony and Jo, but something drastic had to happen. The whole thing was Jo's big plan, and you have to remember that Jo is a mutant who's used to violence. So, yeah.
> 
> If there's any questions, I'd love to answer them! Of if you just want to talk superheroes, I'm okay with that too.


	3. The Arctic Balls Incident

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _Friendship isn't about whom you have known the longest._   
>  _It's about who came and never left your side._   
>  **Unknown**   
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small Warning: hallucinations, brought on by PTSD and alcohol withdrawal.

**April 14, 2014**

“Master Stark is awake, Miss Jo.” A groan echoed in the lab as Jo raised up on her knees, and her spine gave an audible pop as she straightened. The bloodstains on the floor are gone now, so that’s one less thing to worry about. Of course, before starting housekeeping duty, she cleaned out every drop of alcohol in the house. With JARVIS’s help, she even managed to empty out all the emergency stashes. One of the emergency bottles was hidden in a chandelier in a room that she’d never been in, and she really hopes it’s not one of Stark’s favorite rooms either. JARVIS promised the chandelier would be replaced before the end of the week.

Jo thanked the AI and then wandered throughout the house until she found Tony, because he is Tony now. She’s seen him naked and let him break her face; they’re total bros now. She found him sitting at the kitchen bar, and she paused in the doorway to look him over before he noticed her. He’s wearing loose gray pants and a really baggy tee shirt, his hair is sticking up like he stuck his finger in a light socket, and the left side of his jaw is swollen and nearly black. Maybe she shouldn’t have hit him so hard, but she keeps forgetting how strong she is compared to humans. 

“Mornin’, Tony. How’s the hangover?” Bleary brown eyes met hers and then quickly widened as he took her in. She’s dressed about the same as the night before, this time in orange boxer panties and a white tank top. Her hair is put up as usual too, but Jo’s got a feeling that Tony doesn’t care about what she’s wearing. 

“The bruises are gone,” he whispered. 

“You watched me get shot in the head, but it’s the disappearing bruises that surprise you?” She was already popping some bread into the toaster as she spoke, because she figured that’d be the easiest on his stomach. She doesn’t know shit about quitting alcohol cold turkey, so JARVIS has been informing her about all of the possibilities. One thing is for certain, this isn’t going to be easy. 

“About that…when you got shot, it healed instantly on the spot. Last night I know I spent at least a half hour in the shower, but the bruises were still fresh. How does it work?” What Tony is asking is very personal and isn’t something that she talks about. Ask any mutant about their specific mutation, and five bucks says they’ll clam up or try to kill you. Especially if the person asking is a human. It’s private, but…it’s Tony. 

“I can control it, to an extent. With fatal injuries, like taking a bullet to the brain, the healing occurs instantaneously to keep me alive. If I’m in a big fight and my adrenaline is pumping, bruises and breaks will heal instantly so I can keep fighting.”

“And last night?” Jo bustled around the kitchen as she thought it over, because it’s a little hard to explain. She’s not even sure if she understands it. It just is. 

“I went into the lab looking for a fight, because I had a feeling that would snap you out of it. It was controlled, and I…” Alright, here goes. Might as well get this over with. “I trusted you not to kill me, so I held off the healing.”

“Why hold off and put yourself in pain?” It’s a good question, and it’s one that she isn’t going to answer. There is no way that she’s about to tell her boss, a now recovering alcoholic, that she held onto the pain for as long as she could because she deserved it. She deserved to be in pain for letting him fall so far under her watch. In the grand scheme of things, what’s a few broken ribs for a few hours compared to months of drowning in alcohol? In fear?

“I’m a bit of a masochist.” It was said with a slow wink as she sat a glass down in front of him. “Hope you like your OJ vodka-free.”

“What’s for breakfast?” She can feel his mind, whirring quietly instead of at hurricane speeds, but he’s going to let it all slide. 

“Toast and a fried egg.” A few moments later, she set his plate of food down and grinned like the jackass they can both be sometimes. Tony rolled his eyes and then looked down at his gourmet meal. Jo shrugged and went to get her own breakfast. Before, she wondered who did the grocery shopping because Tony never left (so she never did) but food kept magically appearing. That’s when JARVIS informed her that there’s a pre-saved list, with things added and taken off at Tony’s discretion, that is sent to some delivery service that gets whatever Tony wants. His wealth is frightening, and very convenient. 

“Thanks,” Tony managed to get out as Jo took a seat next to him. Her mouth was already full, so she just nodded and kept chewing. 

_clink_

They both looked down at the fork now laying on the floor, because Tony won’t meet her eyes. She watched him clench his shaking hand into a fist, and she didn’t know what to do. What’s the right thing to say? JARVIS said shaking was normal and would probably go on for a while, so should she reassure him? Tell him that it’s all the norm? Tell him it’s all going to be okay? Instead, she reached over and placed her hand over his. After a heartbeat or six, the shaking died down. 

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll grab another one.” She slipped off her stool, picked up the fallen fork, and brought over a clean one. Tony took it without saying a word and still wouldn’t meet her eyes, but Jo didn’t let it get to her. They’re both in for a long couple of days. 

“Can I go to the lab now?” Tony asked five minutes later. His plate’s clean and his glass is completely empty, so they’re off to a good start. 

“Yeah, sure. I’ll bring you some lunch later.” He nodded and ran off, and Jo turned to watch him hurry away. He still wouldn’t meet her eyes.

**.xXx.**

“Yo, Tony! I brought down a sammich, so you better—Tony?” Wide dark brown eyes met hers, finally, and Jo noted the way his body kept continuously shaking. Sweat covered his face and slicked his hair, and he’s looking a little green around the edges.

“Not hungry,” he grumbled and turned away. The guy looks dead on his feet, and Jo had to stop herself from forcing him to eat. Instead, she gently set down the plate holding a delicious turkey sandwich at his elbow along with a bottle of water. She wants to comfort him, but she’s scared of doing the wrong thing and making things worse. Maybe she should’ve taken those sensitivity classes. 

“I’ll come back around midnight to drag your ass to bed. Tell JARVIS if you need me.” She gently pressed her fingertips against his scalp as she spoke and then quickly left the lab. Maybe, once this part is over, she’ll ask for that raise.

**.xXx.**

True to her word, Jo waited until midnight to go check on the genius. He was sitting in the same spot, but the water bottle was empty and he’d eaten the sandwich at some point. He’s still shaking slightly, but that’s obviously not enough to slow the genius down. Still, the guy needs to rest. It’ll be a few days before the shakes die down, and who knows how long it’ll take for them to stop completely. Right now, he’s made it nearly twenty-four hours without a drop of alcohol. According to JARVIS’s research, DTs normally hit somewhere between twenty-four and forty-eight hours. So, Day Two isn’t going to be fun.

“Alright, Tony, time to go. I don’t reckon you feel like eating anything?” Tony groaned aloud, so she’s gonna take that as a no. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. Just means an earlier bedtime.”

“I just need to—”

“Whatever it is, it can wait until morning. Come on, you need to sleep.” Tony protested, probably on principle, and then let Jo pull him from the lab. The two shuffled down the hallways together, and Jo steered Tony into his bedroom. 

“I don’t need a babysitter,” he huffed as she marched him into the bathroom. 

“Not a babysitter, a bodyguard.”

“Oh yeah? What are you protecting me from? Soap scum?”

“Yourself.” With that, Jo pushed him into the bathroom and closed the door. 

When Tony reemerged later in loose sleeping pants and wet hair, she was sitting on his bed and patting the spot next to her with a small smile. Tony plopped down next to her and dropped his wet hair onto her mostly bare shoulder. Jo brushed away a lock of wet hair on his forehead and just let both of them enjoy the peacefulness of the moment. This, she can do. She can offer this kind of comfort. The need for basic contact, whether it be human or mutant, isn’t lost on her. Before she realized what she was doing, she was gently combing her fingers through his wet hair and humming quietly. 

“I left ya some goodies on the nightstand. Should help ya sleep.” If her voice was a little rougher than usual, Tony didn’t comment on it. What? People don’t come to her for this kind of comfort, because they don’t expect it from her. Not from Jo. Not from The Tank. 

“Sleeping pills?” He’d managed to reach the table without moving off her shoulder, and Jo looked down to see him holding her bottle of sleeping pills and a bottle of water. 

“Those work on me sometimes, so they should put you down for a full eight hours. Go ahead. Down a couple.” Tony sighed as he pulled away, and she watched as he dropped two pills on his tongue and swallowed them down. He placed both bottles back on the small table, and Jo got up to help him get settled under the blankets. Once he was as snug as a bug in a rug, she stood up to make her exit. 

“Jo?” She looked down at the sweaty and shaking fingers wrapped around her wrist, but she kept quiet. “Will you stay here, until…”

Jo could’ve laughed and said something about being a babysitter after all, it was right on the tip of her tongue, but she didn’t. Tony Stark is a proud man; she knew that before ever laying eyes on him. For him to ask someone to stay with him until he falls asleep, that’s big. Monumentally huge. He’s showing vulnerability in a big way, and Jo felt oddly humbled by the request. After everything they’ve been through in just the past twenty-four hours, how can she say no? She’s in it for the long haul. 

“Budge over, Tin Man.” Tony glared at her, but he still scooted over. Instead of laying down, Jo propped her back up against the headboard and stretched her legs out in front of her. Tony is under the blanket and Jo is sitting on top of it, but she’s fine without a blanket. After a little prodding and shuffling, Tony moved over to bury his face in her stomach. His arms formed a band around her thighs, and his legs pulled up tight against his body. The shakes were getting harder now, but Tony’s eyes were closed. The sleeping pills should kick in soon. Jo buried one hand in his wet hair, used the other to make sweeping circles on his sweaty back, and closed her eyes.

**.xXx.**

Jo was jolted out of sleep at the feeling of the bed shaking, and her eyes opened just in time to see a half-asleep Tony stumbling out of the blanket as he ran off the bed and into the bathroom. The sound of violent puking met her ears a moment later, and she groggily rose out of the bed. Tony was on his knees and making his prayers to the porcelain gods when Jo made it to the bathroom, and she dropped to her knees next to him. She pushed back the hair hanging over his forehead and hummed lightly in the back of her throat. When Tony finally quit puking up the bile in his stomach, he fell to the side and against her. The shakes have turned into tremors, and Jo wrapped her arms around his lightly convulsing body.

“Holy fuck, Tony,” she mumbled into his sweaty hair. The guy is obviously not doing well. Jo held onto Tony with one arm and blindly reached over her head with the other one. She managed to snag the bottle of Listerine and tipped Tony’s head back to pour some in. “Come on and swish for me.”

“Grrgl.” Yeah, that makes sense. It really does. The peppermint flavor reminds him of Pepper; Jo will get JARVIS to switch it to a cinnamon flavor in the morning. Well, later today. Once Tony was done, she propped him up and held his head over the toilet. 

“Now spit for me.” It’s not the most pleasant thing ever, but desperate measures. When he was done, Jo glanced up at the ceiling. “Hey, JARVIS? Can you flush?”

“Of course, miss.” The toilet flushed without Jo having to stretch her toes, and she leaned her head back against the sink for a moment as Tony slumped against her. Tony’s still shaking up a storm, so getting him back to bed is her top priority. Her first option is to gently coax Tony to his feet and then for them to shuffle their way back to the bedroom. The second option is to just pick him up and carry him back to bed herself. The first option is better for his pride, but the second option will be quicker. Second it is. 

“Put me down, you barbarian,” Tony groaned. 

“Do you prefer the fireman’s carry?” She’s carrying him bridal style this time, because of his rumbly tummy, and Tony stopped groaning long enough to glare up at her. Jo laughed quietly as she settled Tony back into bed and pulled the blankets up to his chin. Stark pulled her down next to him, and they moved into the same position that they fell asleep in. Jo frowned as Tony dropped back into sleep, and she brushed a hand across his sweaty forehead before sweeping his hair back. 

“G’night, Tony.”

**April 15, 2014**

Tony woke up slowly, like crawling through mud, and felt sore all over. It only took a second for everything to come back, and he groaned quietly as he pushed his face into his pillow. At the movement, his scalp stung and then was instantly soothed by gentle fingertips. He’s not laying on a pillow. Not a conventional one anyway. His face is buried in his bodyguard’s stomach, because the woman won’t leave him alone. He’s ignored her, verbally abused her, and then beat her. The fight might have been her big plan to give him a wakeup call, but it was still him that…Doesn’t matter. The point is, she should have given up months ago.

He doesn’t understand his bodyguard, and he doesn’t like not being able to understand things. He’ll have to ponder Jo later though; right now, he needs to get up. Jo made a strange gurgling sound as he wiggled away with what little dignity he has left, and the woman slumped to the side once he was standing next to the bed. She rolled into the warmth left from where he was sleeping and stretched out on her stomach, and Tony’s bloodshot eyes ran over her. She looks innocent and so very young, but he’s still got a bruised jaw that proves how capable she is. Huh. She’s got a tattoo. He can see the start of it, disappearing under her hair and tank top. She really is still a stranger. 

The house was quiet as he walked through, and he blinked as he looked around the kitchen. This is where the food is. And coffee. He still remembers how to make coffee. He is a genius after all. As his hands went through the motions, his mind went over the past few days. Past few months. Everything is…not right. It’s not wrong, but it isn’t right either. Pepper is gone, maybe forever, and there’s a woman in his bed that he has not slept with. He’s not allowed to drink, and he’s been a casual drinker since…well, for a very long time. He still can’t build a suit, because every time he tries he just sees them lighting up the sky. He can see the fire, and he can feel the fire that Pepper’s falling into and there’s nothing he can do, not even with a suit, he’s going to—

**.xXx.**

Jo’s toes and fingers were reaching for the ether as she stretched into wakefulness, and she nuzzled down into a super fluffy mattress. Her toes are tangled in silk, so she’s not in her bed. Tony. Right. She stretched out her limbs, but she couldn’t even find the edge of the mattress. Admitting defeat, she popped her eyes open and looked around. The bed was empty and cold, except for where she’d been laying. Looks like Tony got started without her. She’s not sure if she should be grateful for the extra sleep or upset at being left behind.

“JARVIS?” One day, she’ll wake up and not sound like a frog. 

“How can I be of service this morning, Miss Jo?” She’s detecting a little bit of snark under his usual cool professionalism.

“How’s Tony doing?” Various parts popped as she stood up, and she fought to get her hair down just to put it back up again. 

“Master Stark is in the lab.”

“I didn’t ask where he was, JARVIS.” He might be an artificial intelligence system programmed by an egotistical maniac, but he sounds very human sometimes. He’s also very protective over his creator, which Jo is completely okay with. She likes to think that they’re on the same side. 

“Master Stark attempted to drink coffee but has been unable to keep anything down.”

“Any food?” She’s in her room now, so she can take a quick shower and prepare herself for another day of worrying about Tony.

“None, miss.” Well, that’s definitely not good. She’s pretty sure that big meals are out for a while, but he needs a little something-something to keep himself going. Maybe she’ll take him some toast down later and a bottle of water; hydration is really important. She’s going to take care of him if it’s the last thing she does, and she’s not going to fail this time.

**.xXx.**

The day dragged on pretty much like the previous day. Jo took Tony some toast, which he’d eaten by the time she brought down a chicken salad sandwich for a late lunch, and she spent most of her time on the roof reading. JARVIS kept up a relaxing playlist and even coaxed her through some yoga poses, which she’s taking as a sign of his approval. She let Tony tinker around his lab until one and then she drug the shaking mess of a genius to bed, where she was weakly manhandled back into the bed in the same position as the night before.

This is where everything changes. Tony is shaking so hard that the whole bed is shaking right along with him, and Tony has a really big bed. The grip he has on her thighs is hard enough to bruise, and he’s mumbling nonsense into her stomach even though he took two more sleeping pills after his last puking incident. He’s sweating a small pond, and his heartbeat is a lot faster than it should be. She’s not reading his mind, but she can _feel_ it. It feels like…an earthquake. 

“JARVIS, what do I do?” Tony’s knees are pulled up to his stomach, and his clothes are sticking to him.

“I’m afraid I don’t know, miss.” Oh great, the AI sounds just as worried as she does. What’s she supposed to do? She doesn’t know how to handle this. She’s a fighter; she beats people up, so she has no idea how to make them better. She’s not a doctor or—doctor!

“Can you call Tony’s doctor friend for me?” The guy had sounded nice, so maybe he’ll be able to help. 

“Excellent idea, Miss Jo.” Yeah, she’s a real genius. What a laugh. The real genius is falling apart against her, and she doesn’t know what to do. She was so caught up in her worrying that she didn’t even hear the quiet click that sounded to let her know the call went through. 

“Uh, Tony?” Jo bit the inside of her cheek as she tried to remember the Doc’s name, but she’s drawing a blank. 

“No, my name is Jo. I’m—”

“Tony’s bodyguard, yes, I remember. The last time we spoke, you were hosing him down?” It’s good to know that she left an impression. Wait, has Tony been talking about her?

“That’s me. I’m afraid I can’t remember your name.”

“Bruce. My name is Bruce.” It’s a nice name. A good strong name. 

“And you’re definitely a doctor?” Tony’s legs started scissoring under the blanket, and the grip on her thighs tightened enough to cut off some blood flow. 

“Of a sorts. Is there something I can help you with?”

“Yeah, there is. Look, Doc, I normally wouldn’t breach confidence like this, but I’m a little out of my depth here.” Her hands are still moving across sweaty skin in an effort to calm the boss down, but it’s not working. 

“Is Tony okay?” Jo snorted, quietly, and held Tony a little tighter. 

“Remember the drinking incident the last time we talked? Well, Tony never really stopped drinking after that. Fuck, Doc, he’s been drunk for two months. He was barely eating, and the only time he slept was when he passed out. He had a change of heart the other night, and I’ve cleared out all the booze. He was okay yesterday, except for the nausea and shaking. Today has been about the same, but…We went to bed at one, he got up at three to puke, and then he took some more sleeping pills and dropped off again. He won’t stop shaking, his heart rate is through the roof, I’m swimming in his sweat, and I don’t know what to do.”

Jo sucked in a deep breath after getting all of that out and felt a lot better. Or, well, she would feel better if her boss and possible friend wasn’t clinging to her for dear life and making her whole body shake. Yeah, JARVIS read out the possible symptoms to help her prepare, but she’s in over her head here. And this Bruce guy seems like a good friend, so maybe Tony won’t kill her when he finds out that she let someone else in on what’s happening with him. Because honestly? She needs the help. Desperately. 

“He hasn’t had any alcohol in the past forty-eight hours, at all?”

“Not a drop. I cleaned the house out after Tony decided that he needed to quit, and JARVIS even told me where the secret stashes were. All under Tony’s orders, of course.”

“The sweating and shaking are normal, especially if his alcohol consumption before now was constant. How bad is the shaking?” The doctor has a calming voice, very zen, but it’s not getting through to the sleeping billionaire. Jo’s knees have gone numb. 

“He’s shaking me and the bed. It’s like a localized earthquake in here, Doc. How long will this last?”

“NO!” Tony jumped up so fast that his head knocked into Jo’s chin, and Jo swore colorfully as she bit down on her tongue and swallowed blood. 

“Uh, Doc?” Tony’s arms are wrapped around Jo’s head and pressing her cheek tight against his arc reactor. It’s not a very comfortable feeling. He’s also kneeling on her left thigh, so now her right knee is tingling with the renewed blood flow. 

“Shh, Pep, don’t let him hear you,” Tony whispered. 

“Tony? Can you hear me? Can you understand what I’m saying?” At the sound of the doctor’s voice, Tony tensed further and Jo groaned as the arc reactor pressed harder against her cheek. 

“I’ll keep you safe this time,” Tony whispered into her hair. The doctor is being strangely quiet, so Jo decided that it’s time to take a look into Tony’s thoughts. Hallucinating. That totally makes sense. To Tony, Killian is looking for Pepper. He’s going to inject a stronger version of Extremis, one that Tony won’t be able to cure. Jo, of course, is playing the role of Pepper. Tony still doesn’t have a suit to call for, and his anxiety is spiking through the roof. 

“Hey, Doc? Any tips for dealing with hallucinations?”

“Unconsciousness usually works best.” She’s beaten people unconscious before, but she actually likes Tony’s face just the way it is. Minus the current purple shading.

“Hey, JARVIS? Can you shine a light on that pressure point that knocks people out?” She remembers taking a class on pressure points, but she didn’t pay attention because she’s strong enough to knock people out without using cheap tricks. That’s what seventeen year old Jo thought anyway. Twenty-seven year old Jo knows better now. 

“Right away, miss.” A tiny beam of light glinted off Tony’s sweaty skin, and Jo applied the right amount of pressure. She twisted out of his arms and managed to catch him as he crumbled, and she made quiet little humming sounds as she eased him down into her lap. 

“How did you…?”

“I’m pretty strong for a girl. Any tips for when he wakes up?”

“Um, the hallucinations should only last for a day or two. The nausea might last a little longer, so try to stay away from heavy foods. The shaking will probably last for a while, I’m afraid. How’s he doing right now?” Jo glanced down at where Tony’s drooling on her thigh and wrinkled her nose. 

“Sleeping like a baby. Thanks for this, Doc. I guess I just kinda panicked for a moment,” Jo said with a quiet laugh at the end. 

“It’s completely okay. Please, feel free to call me again if you need anything. And again, thank you for helping him.”

“Eh, the jackass kinda grows on you after a while, doesn’t he?” She listened to the doctor’s own quiet laugh, it’s a nice sound, and sagged back against the headboard. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I guess he does. Um, JARVIS?”

“Sir?”

“Please contact me if things look, uh, dire?”

“Of course, sir.”

“Thanks again, Doc.” He might’ve said goodbye, but Jo never heard it. She was already fast asleep.

**April 16, 2014**

Bruce was pulled out of sleep by his ringing phone, and he almost ignored it in favor of getting a little more sleep. Very few people actually have his number though, and only one person calls him regularly. There could be something wrong with Tony, or his bodyguard could be panicking again. His bodyguard…As Bruce groped around for his phone, he thought about the woman Tony had called him to rant about a few months ago. Tony had been angry at Fury for appointing him a bodyguard, and he’d been even angrier about the fact that she completely ignored him and followed Pepper’s orders. All Bruce knew her as was her at first, until she told him her name. Bruce finally grabbed the phone and hit speaker.

“Hello?”

“No, no, no, no.” The word was being chanted like a mantra, and Bruce could barely recognize the voice over the clicking sound of chattering teeth. 

“That you, Doc?” The woman’s already rough voice sounds strained, and Bruce sat up in his bed. 

“What’s happening?” Bruce asked quickly. 

“Tony, no, don’t touch that. Leave the water off,” the woman said quickly. 

“Jo?”

“He slipped out of the bed without me noticing. When I woke up, I found him in the tub. The water was freezing so I drained it, but he won’t let me get him out. Every time I try, he goes fuckin’ ballistic. I could just knock him out again, but I don’t want to get into that particular habit. I don’t know what to do here, Doc.” She sounds completely panicked, and he can still hear Tony chanting in the background. 

“What’s he seeing?”

“How should I know?” The words were bitten out, like she’s shivering too. She must be in the tub with him. 

“Tony told me about you, and I know you’re a telepath. What’s he seeing?” he repeated. The woman didn’t question how he knew or anything else; she just answered. 

“It’s like a spin cycle in there, Doc. The only thing I can really pick up is the heat.”

“The heat?” What kind of heat is so bad that it has Tony Stark hallucinating in a freezing cold bathtub? 

“The desert in Afghanistan, the explosion in space, the fire Pepper fell into…he needs the cold, but his lips are blue and I’m pretty sure his balls have frozen off.” Okay, so Tony Stark is hallucinating _naked_ in the tub. Fuck, but he never thought Tony was suffering this much. Funny, he always thought the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist was too cool to go through PTSD. It goes to show just how stupid geniuses can be. 

“Is there any way that you can calm his mind? Stop the hallucinations?” There was a pause, and he calmly waited for her to speak again. 

“I’m not that good, Doc. I can read thoughts, but I can’t manipulate them.” She sounds a little upset, which is something that Bruce can understand. She obviously wants to help, but she can’t. 

“Have you ever tried?”

“Well, no, but…”

“Try it. Tell me what it sounds like, what it looks like, what it feels like. Maybe that’ll help.” He could hear her take a shuttering breath over the sound of Tony’s ghostly mantra, and there was the squeaking sound of bare flesh against wet porcelain. 

“People always think telepathy is hearing a single thought at a time, but it’s not like that for me. People normally have several thoughts going at once, and people like Tony have so much going on at one time that it’s like getting swept into a tornado. There’s color to the thoughts too. Can you believe that, Doc?” She laughed quietly and then continued on, “Right now, Tony’s thoughts are black, like the black hole that he flew into. Being in his mind hurts, it burns, but I can see where the thoughts originate from. There’s a sensory memory that comes from this too. With our minds connected, it’s like I’m reliving everything with him. I can feel the hot white sand hitting my face. I can feel my lungs struggling to breathe but there’s no air. I can feel the muscles in my arm tearing as I reach for Pepper, but it’s too late because she’s been swallowed by the fire. I feel like I’m drowning in him.”

“Just try to stay calm, Jo, okay? Can you hear me breathing?” He took an exaggerated breath and released it with an exaggerated exhale. He did it a few more times and strained his ears to hear what was happening on the other side of the phone. 

“Thanks, Doc. So I can find the source easily enough, but now what?” Bruce wracked his so-called genius brain and tried to think something up. The telepath is very descriptive, so maybe something visual will work best. 

“Jo, I want you to listen to me very carefully. I need you to picture a box. A big black box; it’s heavy and strong, with a lock on the front. Can you picture it?”

“Yeah, kinda like the trunk I kept at the foot of my bed in boarding school.” Mutant, boarding school, right. 

“Something like that is perfect. Open the trunk and put those thoughts inside of it. All of the fire, all of the fear, just push them down inside and lock it up. Can you do that for me, Jo?”

“I can try.” There was silence for a little while and then he heard the sound of quiet little whimpers. The rough and quiet hums sounded wrong coming out of the bodyguard. The squeaking noise from earlier came back, and Tony’s repetitive no’s cut off with a long groan. Then Tony yelped and Jo grunted, and Bruce worried that it was a bad idea after all. 

“What the hell?! What is goin’ on?!” Tony yelled. 

“I guess it worked, Doc,” Jo said breathily. 

“Did you cut off my balls?!”

“I needed earrings to wear to the prom.” Bruce chuckled in amusement and relief, and he listened to Tony squawk and Jo laugh. 

“Bruce?! Who else did you invite to my indecency?”

“Don’t worry, boss. I’m the only one stuck lookin’ at your naughty bits. The good doctor’s been spared this sight, and a good thing too. I might need therapy when this is all over,” Jo laughed. 

“I am not that kind of doctor,” Bruce said quickly. He spent a few days at Tony’s place after the whole Extremis incident, and he’d never slept so much before in his life. A therapist he was not. 

“I dunno, Doc. You really helped me out earlier.”

“How? What’s going on? Why are we in the tub?”

“The Doc can explain while we get out of the freezing cold tub and you put on some pants. Speaking of, I’m borrowing some clothes since mine are soaked.” Bruce briefly explained what just occurred, or at least what he knows of it, as Tony and Jo dried off and put on clean clothes. When he was through, they were both settled into bed and covered with blankets. 

“You locked away my hallucinations?” Tony sounds like a mix between scared and impressed, and Bruce is too. Telepathy is both amazing and dangerous. 

“Your dangly bits almost got frostbite. You should be thanking me, and the Doc.”

“Thank you, Bruce.” There was the sound of a pained grunt, so Bruce just assumed that Jo hit Tony. 

“Yeah, thanks, Doc. I didn’t even know I could do that, and I never would’ve been able to do it without your help,” Jo said with a voice full of sincerity. 

“You _experimented_ on me?!”

“I thought you liked experiments?” Bruce is starting to feel like an interloper, so maybe it’s time to hang up and go back to sleep. 

“Um, I think I’m just going to—”

“Hey, Doc, what else can we expect? We’re coming out of day four, so the hallucinations should stop now, right?” Jo asked quickly. 

“Yes, the hallucinations should be over. The nausea, anxiety, and shaking will probably last for a little longer,” Bruce said quietly. He heard Tony and Jo groaning in tandem, so at least they’re both on the same wavelength now. 

“Don’t worry, Tony, the Doc and I will be by your side. Unless you strip down and get into a freezing cold tub again. Then you’re on your own,” Jo said. Bruce can hear Tony grumbling in the background, and he feels a little better knowing that Tony’s in good hands and will be okay. 

“As my bodyguard, it is your duty and privilege to assist me no matter the water temperature.”

“Privilege? You hearin’ this, Doc?”

“I’m hearing it,” he said with a small laugh. 

“You definitely need some more sleep, boss. Say goodnight to the good doctor.”

“Goodnight, Bruce!”

“G’night, Doc!”

“Goodnight, Tony. Goodnight, Jo.” He ended the call and tossed his phone onto the little table next to the bed.

**April 20, 2014**

“Miss Jo, Master Stark requires immediate assistance.”

It’s been four days since what Jo has dubbed the “Arctic Balls Incident,” and they’ve settled into a nice routine. Jo and Tony have breakfast together, and they go their separate ways after that. Jo will bring down some lunch, but Tony is usually so buried in his work that he barely remembers to grunt a thanks as she’s leaving. So Jo does whatever she’s in the mood for, normally some type of exercise or reading, until dinnertime. Tony can eat a little more now without getting too sick, so Jo makes dinner and they eat together in the lab. Then Jo normally watches cartoons until midnight, which is when she makes Tony go to bed. They’ve slept together every night so far, in the literal sense. Normally in Tony’s bed, because of the silk sheets. 

“Is he okay, JARVIS? Where is he?” she asked as she hurried down from the roof. 

“He’s in the bathroom, miss.” The bathroom? It’s only nine. They had pasta two hours ago, and Tony was fine. The last time Tony wandered off and wound up in the bathroom, he was hallucinating in a tub full of freezing cold water. She wants to avoid that. 

“Tony! Tony, are you o—kay. Am I dreaming?” Tony Stark is sitting in his giant bathtub, and it’s filled with…bubbles. 

“Just the bodyguard I was looking for! I can’t reach my back.” Tony was looking over his shoulder at her, with a shit eating grin, and Jo just blinked. 

“Are you naked in there?” 

“Well, yeah. Don’t get all shy on me now; I need someone to wash my back.” Tony’s waving a sponge at her, and Jo let her mental defenses down. She’s been doing that a lot where Tony Stark is concerned. His mind isn’t as whirlwind crazy as usual, so she can pick up on a few things. Tony doesn’t want to be alone, and he actually likes her company. There’s someone who wants her comforting company. 

“You’re such a weirdo. What if I say no?” It’s a dumb question, because she’s already rolling up her sweatpants. Her tank top will be fine. 

“I knew you wouldn’t.” She doesn’t like the way he’s smirking at her; it makes her want to hit something. Her pants are rolled up over her knees now, so she stopped right in front of the tub and propped her fists on her hips. 

“Yeah? How so?” He scooted forward a little, and Jo slowly lowered one leg into the tub and then the other. Once she was seated on the edge of the tub, Tony leaned back against her to use her thigh as a pillow and closed his eyes. The bubbles came up to mid-shin, and they smelled like oranges. 

“I’ve got cinnamon mouthwash.” Oh. She was hoping that Tony’s ability to overlook small details would keep him from noticing the small change. 

“Fair enough. Keep your eyes closed.” She used a small cup to pour water over his hair and get it wet, and she gently worked some shampoo into his hair. 

“You’ve never asked about it. Not once.” He was talking quietly and slowly moving into her fingertips as she gave him a little scalp massage. 

“What’s that?” She’s feeling kind of peaceful herself. The water is warm, Tony’s thoughts are a lot softer than usual, and there’s something about the repetitive motion of washing Tony’s hair that calms her right down. 

“The arc reactor. You’ve never asked about it.” That’s true, she hasn’t. From what she’s picked out over the past few months, the arc reactor is very personal. It’s Tony’s heart, and it’s on the outside for everyone to see. 

“Didn’t see the point in it. Should I?” She finished washing the conditioner out of his hair and slicked it back from his forehead, and she let Tony grab one of her hands. He placed her right hand over the glowing blue light, and Jo let her fingertips lightly touch against the metal. 

“You know.” He’s not asking, and Jo knows what he means. Does she know how he got the arc reactor? Does she know about how it was ripped out? About the poisoning? 

“Yeah, I know.” She nudged Tony up into a sitting position and then grabbed the bright red sponge he was waving around earlier. 

“I don’t know anything about you. I thought about looking into what SHIELD has on you, maybe Xavier’s school files, but…” He trailed off as she started moving the sponge over his shoulders, in small little circles, and she decided to help him out. 

“You want to hear it from me, huh? Fair enough. What do you want to know?” She’s seen Tony’s every fear, she knows what makes him tick, and she knows that they’re unbalanced. 

“Little stuff. Where are you from? You have an accent.”

“Louisiana. A small little town not far from Shreveport.” Tony leaned forward so she could reach the small of his back, and he hummed quietly. 

“Were your parents mutants too?” Once again, a very personal question to ask a mutant. She’ll answer it though, for Tony. Pain for pain and all that. 

“They both were. My father was like me, with super strength and healing. He died when I was a few months old, some asshole just kept fighting him until his body gave up and he couldn’t fight anymore. My ma was telekinetic.”

“Was?” He’s leaning back against her now, with his head pillowed on her thigh, and she’s running her fingers through his hair. 

“She passed away when I was sixteen. Heart attack. Ma was the best. She was an art teacher.” Tony made a kind of _ooh_ ing sound as he floundered in the bathtub, and Jo yelped as she got splashed in the face. Like she wasn’t soaked enough already?

“I want to see your tattoo.” Okay, that’s a little random. She shrugged, twisted around so Tony could see her back, and tugged her tank top off. Wet fingers traced down her spine, and Jo let her eyes close as she pictured what Tony’s seeing. 

There’s a twisting bundle of vines from her hairline to the base of her spine, and the vines are mostly solid black. There’s an occasional splash of color, like someone tossed paint around. Her tattoo is more than that though. More vines, flowers, and birds twist away from the vines on her spine. Mostly black, with some bright spots of color. A vine curls around her left shoulder with blooming flowers, some with bright petals and others completely black. Another vine loops away towards her right ribcage, where a bird’s foot is trapped by a small vine as it flies onto her ribs. A few black and blue feathers fall from the bird to fall against the skin of her back. 

“It’s beautiful.”

“It’s one of Ma’s paintings. It’s safe in storage, along with some of her other paintings that I couldn’t sell.” Translation: that she didn’t want to sell. 

“Do you have any more?” She twisted back around, and Tony immediately moved back to use her as a body pillow. 

“Just the one. Anymore questions?” His mind is flipping through a whole series of questions, one after another, so fast that she can’t pick up on any single one. 

“Not tonight. Maybe later.” 

“Alright, come on. It’s time to get out before you get all wrinkly.”

Jo changed into some dry clothes, which consisted of Tony’s boxers and a tee shirt, and they both climbed into bed. It took a little time for them to get arranged properly, and Jo snuggled down into the silky sheets. Tony was curled up with his head on her stomach, which meant that the blankets only reached her hips. Whatever. Jo wrapped an arm around Tony’s back, and he grabbed her wrist to pull her arm farther around. Her palm met cool metal, and she curled her fingers around the reactor. If this isn’t a sign of trust, she doesn’t know what is. 

“Get some sleep, boss.”

“Night, sweetheart.”

**May 2, 2014**

They are now two weeks out from the ABI, and things have gotten much better around the Malibu home. Tony still doesn’t sleep as much as most people, which means that Jo normally wakes up alone, but she’s discovered that’s just the way Tony is. He still has to take it easy on foods that are dripping grease, because he puked up his last Big Mac. (Speaking of, who knew that _McDonalds_ could be delivered?) Other than that, the nausea has gotten much better. The hallucinations have stopped completely, the box holding them just seemed to melt away, but the nightmares are still going strong. Tony still hasn’t touched a drop of alcohol, so there’s that. Today, however, they’re working on something new.

“I hate you so much,” Tony mumbled. 

“Come on, baby! Work it for me!”

“Remind me to make a note to kill you,” Tony huffed out. 

“Tank, remember? JARVIS! Hit me with your best shot!” _Sexy and I Know It_ started playing, and Jo thought Tony was going to cry. He lost so much weight during his two month drinking binge that his muscle tone is just gone, and it’s time to slowly build it back up. Since it’s only day one, Jo has decided to be nice and start small. Now Tony is running on the treadmill and cursing the first time they met. There’s still some fondness deep down. 

A body dropped down from the ceiling, and Jo squealed as strong hands grabbed hers and started spinning her. Blue eyes flecked with golden brown, for today, met hers. Jo tossed her head back and let her favorite archer dance her around. She’s missed having a dance partner; dancing alone is okay but it’s not her favorite way of moving to a beat. So she twisted and wiggled along with the song, and it felt amazing to just let go for a minute. Going by the grin on his face, Clint felt the same way. When the song finished, they fell against each other laughing and tried to catch their breath. 

“Is he high?” Jo dimly heard Tony ask. Ah, that means Natasha must be around somewhere. 

“Their collective IQ is significantly lower than their individual ones,” Natasha explained coolly. Jo stopped giggling just in time to look up and see Natasha’s open palm clap against the back of Tony’s head, and Jo’s giggles erupted anew at the look on her boss’s face. She fell back into Clint, who is now laughing so hard that tears are tracking down his cheeks. 

“Laugh it up! I’ve got half a mind to put you out on the streets,” Tony growled. 

“I’ve got enough money to buy ten houses. I think I’d sleep just fine if you kicked me out,” Jo said. She said it with a real smile, but she was a little startled to realize she wasn’t telling the truth. If she left, she’d actually miss Tony. Secret friendship handshake indeed. 

“Why are you two here?” Tony finally asked. 

“We had some downtime,” Natasha said simply. 

“I can cook a mean steak,” Clint grinned. 

“I brought some rolls,” Natasha added. Tony still has a few problems with keeping food down, but maybe…maybe he’ll be able to keep it all down this time. 

“Sounds like a party.” Tony’s skin is starting to look a little healthier, but his weight is still down too low. He’s been pretty isolated too, except for Jo and random delivery guys, so this should be good for him. 

Jo led the way to the kitchen, where Clint already had his steaks laid out and ready to throw on one of Tony’s mini-grills. Natasha passed over the rolls with a smile, and Jo rolled her eyes as she took the bag and made her over to the stove. Since she already had the rolls in the oven, she decided to bake some potatoes too. Those should work okay with Tony’s stomach. Clint and Natasha took up most of the conversation during the cooking and talked about some of the missions they’d been on, both joint and separate. It kept them all laughing, so it didn’t feel like long at all before Clint and Jo were setting food out on the actual kitchen table. Tony and Jo normally just eat at the bar, so it’s different sitting in a chair and eating supper like normal people. 

“I didn’t know you could cook this good,” Jo said as she speared another bite of steak. Her eyes kept flicking over to Tony, who was eating his own meal slowly. 

“Don’t let him fool you, this is the extent of his culinary expertise,” Natasha threw out. 

“Hey!” All it took was a single eyebrow raise to shut him up, and Clint pouted down at his baked potato. They finished up eating, and Jo quickly snatched up Tony’s half-eaten plate and dropped it on top of her cleaned off one. 

“I’ll come back and get the rest of the dishes in a moment.” Jo was popping Tony’s now saran-wrapped plate into the microwave for later when the sound of rushing water caught her ears, and she looked over her shoulder to see Natasha placing the other dishes into the sink. “What’re you doin’, Nat?”

“We’re doing the dishes.” Jo learned not to argue with Natasha after the third shot to the head, so she shuffled over and added her own plate to the pile. Natasha was wearing a short sleeved shirt, and she had soap suds halfway up her arms. Jo took her place beside her at the double-sink and readied herself for the rinsing. 

“Something on your mind, Nat?” Jo learned not to peek into Natasha’s mind after the second shot to the head. 

“He…shakes.” Jo clenched her jaw and thought of the way that Tony’s hands shook as he held his silverware. She thought of the way he had to be careful whenever he raised a glass so he wouldn’t spill it. 

“That’s normal. He’s always drank pretty sporadically, but it was very intense for a few months. It’ll take a little while for the withdrawal effects to wear off,” Jo murmured. 

“He’s okay, right?” Jo caught a flash of Tony sitting in his big porcelain bathtub, with his lips blue and his whole body vibrating. 

“Yeah, he’ll be fine. You really care about him, huh?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Wow, that is a lot. I can see why.” The two women exchanged a glance, and then both turned back to the tasks in front of them. They didn’t say another word as they washed and rinsed, but they didn’t have to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope that everyone is enjoying the development of Tony and Jo's friendship! It's been so much fun to write, so I hope it's been fun to read as well.


	4. Only Fools Rush In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _And I hope to God you'll listen_   
>  _And you'll keep me safe from harm_   
>  _'Cause I found what I was missing_   
>  _When I fell into your arms_   
>  **Help by Hurts**   
> 

**May 16, 2014**

“Oh, good! You’re all here!”

“You called us here,” Natasha pointed out.

“Yeah!” Clint added unhelpfully. Natasha is sitting in a chair, and Clint and Jo are spread out on the couch. Jo is absently massaging Clint’s bare feet, which got her a confused look from Tony as he sauntered across the room to sit on the arm of Natasha’s chair. Natasha’s green eyes looked up at the billionaire, but the assassin didn’t comment on Tony’s choice of seating. 

“Why did you call them here?” Jo asked. If she didn’t ask, Tony would just sit there and let them all stare at him. He likes being stared at. (Sometimes.)

“Well, funny you should ask.” It’s not funny at all; it’s a very practical question. “I bought a house.”

“Another one?” Jo blurted out. The guy already has several, in several different locations. Why does he need another one?

“Did you invite us over to impress us with your wealth? Because we get it. You’re _filthy_ rich,” Clint said with an unnerving smirk. Jo dug her fingers into the soft spot of the archer’s arch and smiled innocently as he glared at her.

“It’s really big, like really big, and I thought you might want some input on your rooms. Of course, you can always just give me free creative license,” Tony said with a slow smirk at the dumbfounded archer. Jo’s jaw dropped as she realized what was going on, and she let her hands fall lax against Clint’s feet. 

“Did that last mission knock out the memory of you asking us to move in with you? Because I would remember you asking us that. Tasha?” Clint looks so lost, and Jo would normally be laughing if she wasn’t completely lost herself. How did this brilliant plan of Tony’s slip right past her?

“No, Tony has already assumed that we’re moving in and is showing kindness by letting us design our own rooms,” Natasha said and looked up at Tony. 

“What she said.”

“Oh, hell yeah! When can we get started?” Clint asked and rubbed his hands together. Looks like he’s over that whole shock thing. Jo’s still trying to process. 

“Wait. Where is this really big house?” Natasha asked. 

“Manhattan.” Of course it is. Tony is still having random nightmares about what happened in New York, so he just has to go back. Masochist much?

“I’m still in,” Clint said after a beat of silence. Tony smiled, Natasha crossed her arms, Jo sighed, and Clint started rattling off his future plans.

**.xXx.**

Tony was finally alone in his lab again, because Clint wandered off about twenty minutes ago, and he was taking the time to just enjoy the silence. He may, possibly, consider the three people in his home as friends but…he has limits. Sometimes he needs to be surrounded by things that aren’t alive to feel comfortable. JARVIS informed him that the three of them are watching _The Hunger Games_ , so he should have had hours to himself without being disturbed. At least, he wasn’t supposed to be disturbed for a while. Unfortunately, nothing goes Tony’s way anymore.

“Are you sure you want to go back to Manhattan, Tony?” Cool green eyes were looking straight at him, and Tony gently placed a hunk of metal back on his work table. 

“Are you suggesting that I can’t handle living in New York, Natasha?” She locked her knees and crossed her arms, and the stance made his spine tingle. That’s how Jo stood right before his, uh, awakening. 

“I’m just concerned. I know you haven’t had an…easy time lately.” Yep, he’s already done with this conversation. 

“I’m fine now. I’ve got an insane bodyguard that protects me from soap scum, so there’s nothing to worry about.” He was fiddling with his precious metal, but Natasha’s hip pushed it out of the way as she sat on the table in front of him. Tony paused, took a breath, and then looked up at the assassin. “What?”

“I don’t like her.” Natasha’s face was just as unreadable as ever. 

“Who? Jo? I hadn’t noticed.” He watched Natasha shoot Jo, in the head, at their first ever meeting. Yes, Natasha did it to prove a point. You don’t shoot people in the head if you like them though, point or not. 

“You don’t know her like I do. Has she told you anything about her past?”

“Have you?” Natasha smoothly crossed her legs as she looked down at him, and Tony leaned back in his chair as he crossed his arms. 

“I’m not the one assigned to keep you alive. You two are getting closer, and I think you need to know who she really is before you let her in too much.” Her usual mask slipped just enough for him to see just how concerned she really is, and Tony thought it over. 

“Trying to protect me?”

“Something like that. You might be the world’s biggest egotistical asshole, but I don’t want to see you hurt.” Natasha slid off the table, squeezed his shoulder, and started walking away. Tony spun around on his stool and watched Natasha slowly saunter away. 

“You think Jo’s going to hurt me?” Natasha stopped at the door and looked over her shoulder at him. 

“Ask her about how we met and decide for yourself.”

Tony sat in the same position for the next several minutes, warring with himself over what to do. When he asked Jo about herself, they kept it light. Well, light-ish. She talked about her parents, who are both dead, and told him about where she’s from. He knows that she’s worked for SHIELD and that she’s very good when it comes to violence, so she’s obviously got some darker stories to tell. He can avoid having an awkward conversation by hacking into SHIELD, which always brings him a small measure of joy, but…it doesn’t feel right. He’ll have to talk to Jo.

**.xXx.**

“Bye, guys! We’ll call ya when Tony gets everything set up! But you can still visit before then! Drive safe!” Jo called as she hung halfway out the front door. Natasha didn’t even turn around, and Clint is walking backwards so he can blow kisses at them. Tony pulled Jo back into the house and let the door close, and Jo continued to laugh as they walked through the house. Tony walked right on past the living room, because it smells like the cheddar popcorn Jo and Clint were munching on. “Where are we going?”

“I don’t know. Bedroom?” Jo stopped in the hallway, blinked at him, and started smiling like a madman. 

“I think you need some fresh air. Come on!” Tony let Jo pull him through the house and up the stairs leading to the roof, and she kept her grip on his hand as he looked around. 

“What the hell is this?” There’s a big cushioned lawn chair on top of the roof, with a big table that’s got a wireless radio on it and a colorful umbrella. There’s also a rolled up yoga mat under the chair, and it’s Jo’s favorite resting spot. 

“It’s my go-to place. JARVIS helped me set it up about a week after I moved in,” she shrugged. 

“The traitor,” Tony grumbled. Jo was busy fluffing up the chair, but she did take a moment to glare at him. No one should insult JARVIS. Not even his creator. 

“I like the sky; I like the sun, I like the stars, and JARVIS is the best.” Jo plopped down in the chair and patted the spot between her long spread legs. With an eye roll to show his disgruntlement, Tony dropped down into the proffered seat and slumped boneless against his bodyguard. The back of his head is pillowed against her breasts, and her strong but still soft thighs are cradling his hips. Jo laced her fingers right under the arc reactor, and Tony reached up to cover his hands with hers. 

“I’ve never had a girlfriend before,” Tony said quietly. 

“I find that really hard to believe, boss,” Jo said with a quiet chuckle. It’s like neither one of them wants to disturb the peacefulness of the moment, but Jo can feel Tony’s mind moving. She’s not picking up any thoughts, but something feels a little…off. 

“A friend that’s a girl. Like, I know that you’re hot and totally fuckable, but I don’t want to sleep with you. Unless we can cuddle.” He tilted his head so that he could flutter his eyelashes at her, and Jo reached up to flick the end of his nose. 

“I don’t know if I should be grateful or offended,” she mumbled. Tony made an aggravated huff that made Jo want to laugh, and she wiggled one of her hands free to reach up and twirl some of Tony’s hair around her finger. She took a tiny peek into his mind, just to see his surface thoughts, and her own thoughts were confirmed. “You recognize the fact that I’m a female, but you don’t see me that way. You just see me as…me. As Jo. As a friend.”

“Yeah, as a friend.” Jo brushed her cheek against the top of his hair and made a quiet humming sound in the back of her throat. Something’s not right. She can feel it. 

“Alright, boss, what’s going on? Did something happen?” Tony shifted against her, which only proves that there is something. 

“Can you hear my thoughts right now?” So he doesn’t want to actually say it. If it was anyone else, she’d give a good glare and tell them to just spit it out. This is Tony though, so she can look inside. 

“Yeah, Tony, I can hear ‘em,” Jo whispered. Her arms loosened a little, the one in his hair dropping back down to below the arc reactor, and Tony stroked his fingertips down her forearm. Like he’s trying to soothe her. 

“She doesn’t trust you.” It’s not a question, because it’s clear that Natasha doesn’t trust her after that little convo. Huh, and Jo thought she was making a little progress with the pretty assassin. 

“No, I guess not. I’m guessin’ you wanna know why.” Her voice is a little thick, because this isn’t something that she enjoys talking about. She saw the end of the earlier conversation, and she knows what question that Tony wants to ask. How did Jo first meet Natasha?

“It’s only fair. You know all of my fears, right? Every single thing that makes me tick? You held me while I was naked and freaking out in a bathtub. I’m starting to feel a little unbalanced here on the secret trade.”

“Secrets for secrets, huh?” It makes sense in Jo’s mind, and she knows that it’s the ultimate sign of trust. Hell, she knows all of Tony’s darkest fears and insecurities. It’s only fair for her to lay herself bare too, right? Right?

“Only if you want to.” The self-proclaimed narcissist actually means that too. If she’s uncomfortable, he won’t push. She can also tell how tempted he is to get information the old fashioned way, which is by hacking into various systems. 

“I told you that my dad passed away, and it was just me and mom for a while. When I was two, this mutant was looking for him and found us. He’d lost a lot of his memory, so when he heard about a mutant with similar abilities to his, he went looking. Ma was the tender-hearted type, so she talked him into staying since he didn’t have any place to go. Name’s Logan, or Wolverine. Heard of him?”

“Isn’t he an asshole?” Oh, so he has heard of him. Figures. 

“You’re one to talk. When I was ten, Ma was worried about my strength and the healing. She didn’t think it was a good idea for me to be in school with humans because I might’ve accidentally hurt someone, so she wanted me to go to Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. Logan tagged along, somehow became a teacher, and was appointed my legal guardian after Ma passed.”

“Where’s this going, sweetheart?” Jo pinched Tony’s stomach, which made him yelp but kept him quiet. 

“Patience. I finished at the boarding school when I was eighteen, and I decided that I wanted to travel a bit. I wasn’t really close to anyone, except for Logan who was staying on as a teacher, so I went out on my own. I know most people do that whole college thing, but it just wasn’t for me. I’ve never been much for academics.”

“You? You should’ve been a natural.” Jo just blinked down at him as he tilted his head to look at her, because he’s lost it. “Because of the telepathy. Couldn’t you just pick up things from other students and the teachers?”

“I wasn’t always a telepath. Nope, don’t say anything. Let me tell my story. Now, where was I?” She knows right where she is, but she can feel Tony’s questioning mind. It makes her want to run, but she’s not going anywhere. “I was in South Dakota when they found me. They had people in hospitals as lookouts for anything abnormal, and I walked into the road while chasing…that’s not important. What’s important is that I got hit by a truck. I normally avoid hospitals, for obvious reasons, but I was knocked unconscious for a little bit. When I came to a few hours later, everything was healed. Broken bones gone overnight? Disappearing concussion? It raised some red flags, and I didn’t get out of the hospital in time. Like I said, that’s when they found me.”

“Who’s they?”

“ROSE. It stands for the four doctors that ran the organization; Rickard, Orlin, Serrens, and Edmonds. They did research, mostly on mutants but some humans too, and I was one unlucky mutant. I’m not going into details, because it doesn’t matter. Serrens was all about finding ways to increase powers, and that’s how I wound up as a telepath. He’d been waiting for someone like me, with regenerative powers that could withstand the procedure. So, there was experimentation, or torture, depending on how you look at it.”

“How long were you there?” Tony is oddly still and just gripping her wrist with white-knuckled fingers. Jo placed her hand over his and started moving her fingers over his knuckles. 

“A little over a year. Logan came looking when I disappeared, and he somehow knows Fury. He got back his memories when I was twelve, but he’s never been very forthcoming on what happened to him. SHIELD was already monitoring the place, with Natasha and Clint taking point. I was sprung about three months after that. I, uh, was a little crazy when the rescue went down. The whole place was a madhouse; mutants and agents were running around everywhere, and there were a few accidents.”

“A few?” Jo is smiling weakly and taking slow measured breaths. She really hates talking about that place. 

“I might have stabbed Natasha with a chair leg, in the leg, and she might have shot me in the head. So I stabbed her with some pens and then Clint shot me.”

“Clint shot you? The same Clint who spent several hours tonight sitting with you throwing popcorn at my big movie screen?”

“Yep, with an exploding arrow right to the throat. I told you I’ve been blown up before,” Jo shrugged. 

“That’s why your voice is rough!” Tony exclaimed and twisted around to look at her. Jo blinked, once, twice, three times, and then started laughing. Her arms twined around Tony’s shoulders as she laughed, and his face was pushed into said throat. 

“Yeah, Tony, that’s why my voice is rough. No one is really sure why my throat didn’t heal right, and it bothers Clint sometimes. Then he thinks about the scars I left on Nat and doesn’t feel so bad anymore,” Jo grinned. 

“So, Natasha doesn’t like you because of some accidental stabbing?” Tony flopped over to lay back against his favorite body pillow, and Jo grunted at the impact. 

“After the rescue, I went against Logan’s advice and stayed on with SHIELD. I was a little…I wasn’t myself after what happened at ROSE, and I made a reputation for myself. It wasn’t a good reputation either. Natasha and I didn’t get along, for obvious reasons, so I can get why she’s worried. I’m not known for being caring, or gentle, or anything else remotely nice. I’m good at killing people, Tony. Not protecting them.”

“I’m still alive.” Tony smiled up at her, and Jo felt herself relax against the lawn chair. 

“For now anyway,” she teased. 

“You two are friendly enough now, except for the shootings.” 

“Clint is a surprisingly good mediator.” Jo feels like a weight has been lifted, and she can tell that Tony feels the same. 

“So, are those two really, you know?” She almost felt like crying at the question, because she’s so grateful for what Tony is doing. He isn’t dwelling on what she’d said and asking for specifics (but he’s definitely going to think it all over later, when Jo’s not around). Instead, he’s gossiping with her like they’re teenagers at a sleepover. 

“What? Together? No, not like that. They’re definitely life partners, that’s for sure, but not like that.” Tony crossed his arms, and Jo massaged her hands against the lightly shaking muscles of his biceps. The shakes are mostly gone, but they still crop up every once in a while. 

“Are you sure? They’re really not involved?”

“Really. Not that their private lives are any of our business,” Jo said in her best authoritative voice. 

“So you don’t read their thoughts?” 

“Are you kiddin’? Like Nat needs any more reasons to shoot me?” Tony and Jo shared a grin before they both went boneless, and their fingers interlocked over Tony’s stomach. There are things in the lab that Tony needs to work on and Jo is itching to exercise the recently recalled memories away, but they’re both content with just relaxing and looking up at the stars. For the moment.

**May 17, 2014**

“I don’t like to be handed things because…” Jo slowly stopped chewing on her chicken sandwich and looked up at her boss. They’re eating dinner in the lab, because the only way to get Tony to eat is to literally bring the food to him, and he’s been quiet for the past five minutes while absently chewing and writing in midair.

“Tony?” She doesn’t like where this is going. Tony’s got his serious-time face on. 

“I don’t like to be handed things because, _because_ , of my dad.” He’s giving her a pointed look, so Jo pointedly put down her plate and gave him her full attention. Their eyes stayed locked as she looked into his mind, and she picked up on a few images. 

_A tiny little Tony standing next to his father, trying so hard to be noticed, only to get handed a bottle and pushed away._

_A young Tony trying to talk to his father, to tell him about his day or what he’s working on, only to get handed a bottle and pushed away._

_An older Tony, still not old enough to drive, standing next to his father’s chair and not saying a thing. He’s given up, and he’s still only given a bottle and pushed away._

“They shaved my head and cut open my brain. That’s why my hair is so long.” Tony grabbed her hand and placed it over his arc reactor as he bent down to press his forehead against the top of her head. 

“So! What do you think about having a movie theater in the new house?”

**May 19, 2014**

“Jo! Come in! How are you?” Jo shuffled a bit on her feet just inside the door, and she had to resist the urge to twist the bottom of her tank top in her fingers. She already has enough frayed hems in her closet. Instead, she hefted the bag on her shoulder a little higher and met cool blue eyes with her own.

“I’m good, but I’m not staying long. I was just doing some last minute shopping and thought I’d stop in,” Jo said quietly. Stark Industries was actually out of the way, but whatever. She’s still surprised they let her in the building, because she definitely got the same confused looks as last time. Yeah, she’s confused about why she’s here too. The bundles of fabric in her arms feel like they weigh a ton, but that’s just the guilt. She shouldn’t be here, but here she is. 

“Is everything okay?” Jo can read the look in Pepper’s eyes without looking into her mind, and she knows that the other woman is worried about Tony. She’s worried, because…she knew. Pepper knew how bad it was going to get when she left, but she left anyway. Jo’s not sure if what she did was right or wrong, but that’s not why she’s here. 

“Yeah. Tony said he told you that we’re moving out to Manhattan?” Pepper nodded stiffly, which actually relieved Jo. When Tony told her that he’d called Pepper, she didn’t really believe him. Tony is safely locked away in the house while she’s out running errands (JARVIS has her on speed dial), but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she needed to do this one last thing before they leave. 

“Was there anything else you needed?” It’s a dismissal, not as direct as Tony’s are, but a dismissal all the same. 

“I know it’s none of my business, but did you really have to leave him? You don’t have to answer, I was just wonderin’.” Pepper’s blue eyes shuttered against the world, and Jo felt a little bad about asking. Jo doesn’t hold Pepper accountable for Tony’s breakdown, his amazing talent for repression and denial gets all the credit for that, but it’s something that’s bothered Jo for months. 

“I know it might not seem like it, but I did it for him.”

“He fell apart after you left, and I didn’t know what to do.” Pepper must have heard something in her voice, because she smiled and brushed her bangs away from her eyes. 

“He told me that he’s stopped drinking. That’s something I’ve been trying to do for years,” Pepper explained. Huh, and all Jo had to do was goad Tony into beating the hell out of her to make him horrified with himself. It’s not exactly a healthy strategy. Jo couldn’t help it; she took a tiny peek. Just enough to really _understand_. Then, just like that, she understood Pepper’s reasoning. As long as Tony had Pepper, he didn’t need to face the darkness. Why should he when he had his own sun? With Pepper gone, he was forced to really process everything. It was something that he needed to do, and he couldn’t do it with her there. So she left. 

“I understand, Miss Pepper, and I think Tony does too.” Since becoming sober, Tony has actually thought about everything that’s happened in his life instead of burying it deep down. His thoughts on the breakup are very similar to Pepper’s, and Jo felt a small measure of peace. 

“Will you take care of him?” Jo nodded at Pepper’s words and turned to walk away. 

“Of course. That’s my job.”

**.xXx.**

“Been waiting long, Nat?” Jo’s back was facing the majority of the room as she dropped her bags onto the bed, and she bent over to pull off her sandals as she waited for an answer.

“Long enough. Did he ask you?” Jo peeled her pants down her legs, tugged them off her feet, and then sat down heavily on the edge of the bed. Natasha is leaning up against her dresser with her arms crossed, and Jo feels like she’s being interrogated. Probably because she is. 

“About how you and I met? Yeah, he asked.” Jo smoothed her hands over her knees and glanced down at her attire. She hates pants with a passion, so they had to go. Besides, her cute little blue and white striped panties match her tank top. Hey! She’s sailor themed today!

“And did you tell him the truth?” Two pairs of green eyes caught and held, and Jo took slow deep breaths. 

“I told him the truth. Told him all about how you botched up a simple rescue mission,” Jo shot off. She knows how much Natasha’s hates being called incompetent, and it was a botched up rescue mission. If Jo had been anyone else, she’d be dead. The delicate skin around Natasha’s eyes tightened, and Jo smiled. “Oh, calm down. I told him about being kidnapped and experimented on, that the telepathy is an implant and not natural, and that I attacked first. I also told him about how I killed people for SHIELD after I was rescued. That’s what you wanted him to know, right?”

“I just wanted him to have all the facts.” Natasha shrugged and straightened up, and Jo watched the way her hips swayed as she started for the door. 

“I’m not going to hurt him.” Natasha froze and glanced over her shoulder, and Jo tried to meet her eyes but the assassin wouldn’t let her. 

“What are your intentions with Stark?” 

“I’m not looking to be the next notch on his bedpost, if that’s what you’re asking. I care about him and want to keep him safe. Isn’t that enough?” Natasha finally met her eyes, but Jo couldn’t read her. 

“For now.” Natasha left the room, and Jo spent the next minute just looking at the empty doorway. She likes Nat so much better when Clint is around to temper her a little. Jo fell back against the bed with a groan and slowly emptied her mind of everything that’s happened. Once she felt a little better, she pulled herself back into a standing position and stretched out her taut muscles. What can she say? Her body’s all tense because of her long and stressful day. Leaving the house had been a little nerve-wracking, since she was constantly worried about Tony the entire time, and her little side-trip to Pepper’s office didn’t help her frayed nerves any. Then there’s the Natasha convo as a cherry on top, and…it doesn’t matter. She’s back now and everything is all good. 

“JARVIS? Is Tony down in the lab?”

“Yes, Miss Jo. He hasn’t left since the last time you asked.” Jo grinned up at the ceiling, because JARVIS is a secret sass master. Well, maybe not that secret. Jo twirled into the kitchen, literally, and then danced her way over to the refrigerator. She made a giant turkey sandwich for Tony, snagged two bottles of water, and carefully wiggled her way down into Tony’s not-so-secret laboratory. He was surrounded by several holograms of the interior of their soon-to-be home, and Jo walked right through a staircase to snag a chair and drag it over to Tony’s side. 

“Still workin’ hard, I see. I’m not gonna have to throw you into a shower later, am I?” Jo placed the plate in Tony’s lap, because there’s no way she’s going to forget that little conversation, and she put the water bottles on the floor between them. 

“You know you love my manly smell.”

“Mmm, grease and pit sweat, that’s what gets my pantin’ at night,” Jo drawled out. Tony smiled at her with his mouth stuffed full of turkey, and a piece of tomato poked out between his lips. Oh yeah, he’s definitely a super suave playboy. 

“Uh, should I go?” The sound echoed in the room, and Jo clapped her hands in excitement. 

“Hey, Doc! Haven’t heard from you in a while! How are things?” Tony just rolled his eyes and grabbed one of the bottles to wash down the bread stuck to the roof of his mouth. 

“Things are fine. Tony has been filling me in on the, uh, new living situations?”

“Ah, yes, the new Stark mansion. Are you gonna come live with us, Doc? I could use the help.” Jo leaned back to prop her elbows on the table behind her, and she grinned at Tony as he glared at her. The angry look was canceled out because of his chipmunk cheeks. 

“He’ll come around eventually. I’m making a room for him anyway,” Tony shrugged. 

“Of course you are.” Jo lightly patted the boss’s shoulder, and this time Tony didn’t even bother to look over at her. 

“Right, well, I need to go. It was nice talking to you again, Jo. Tony, we’ll talk more later?”

“Yeah, you bet.” Jo let them say their goodbyes while she inspected the house, and her own goodbye sounded spacey even to her ears. Tony really has been busy; the new place looks amazing. 

“I like the Doc. Will I ever get to meet him?” Jo asked after Tony finished swallowing another bite. 

“Yeah, he can’t hide away forever. The idiot’s still trying to atone. For a genius, he’s really stupid when it comes to himself.” Like Tony’s one to talk?

“Atone for what?” Dark green met dark brown, and Tony blinked slowly as he chewed. Jo’s starting to get a little bit confused, and Tony’s mind is spinning too fast for her to pick up on anything coherent without really honing in. 

“You do know that you’ve been talking to Dr. Bruce Banner, right?” Huh, she doesn’t remember ever hearing the Doc’s last name. She let that thought process and then shrugged. 

“I guess that makes sense. You two did fight together, and I guess Dr. Bruce should’ve been the tip off.”

“You don’t seem too worried about talking to the Hulk.” Tony took another huge bite of his sandwich, and Jo gave into her urge to poke one protruding cheek. 

“I’m not the judgy type, and I’ve actually seen the Hulk in action.” Tony raised a brow to ask for more details, and Jo was in a good enough mood to oblige. “I was in Harlem during his fight with Abomination. I kept to the rooftops for most of the fight. Fuck, Tony, you should’ve seen it. It was somethin’ else, watchin’ those two go at it. Breathtaking.”

“I’ve seen some footage, but I’ve also seen him in action. Nothing compares to the real thing, huh?”

“Too true, my friend. Now, about this fireplace…”

“How about we discuss your lack of pants?”

**May 27, 2014**

_“Wise men say, only fools rush in. But I, can’t help, falling in love, with you. Shall I stay? Would it be, a sin? If I can’t help, falling in love, with you.”_ Tony froze in the doorway leading to the den and tried to process what was happening. All of the furniture has been pushed back against the far walls, and two slow-moving figures are dominating the center of the room. Clint is only a few inches taller than Jo, and her curvy body complements the archer’s lean form just right. The two were dancing lightly across the carpet, like they were moving across air.

 _“Like a river flows, surely to the sea. Darling, so it goes, some things, are meant to be.”_ Tony felt a presence at his side, and he glanced down at the top of Natasha’s head. She was watching the dancers with an almost gentle smile on her face, which was something she never directed towards Jo. As the next verse began, Clint fluidly dipped Jo into a graceful arch. Jo looked completely at ease in Clint’s strong arms, and Tony was looking at the way Jo’s loose hair just barely skimmed the carpet when he realized that Clint was looking right into Jo’s eyes and singing quietly. 

_“Take my hand, take my whole life too. For I, can’t help, falling in love with you.”_

_“Like a river flows, surely to the sea,”_ Jo sang quietly as Clint pulled her back upright. 

_“Darling, so it goes, some things, are meant to be,”_ Clint picked up as he spun Jo away from him. Jo did a full circle on her own and then outstretched one hand as she mimed a deep curtsy. 

_“Take my hand.”_ And Clint did so he could pull her back to him. As Clint started the next line, he dropped his hands to Jo’s shapely hips and lifted her into the air with ease. _“Take my whole life too.”_

_“For I can’t help,”_ Jo sang as her arms went around her partner’s neck and she slid down his body. _“Falling in love with you.”_

_“For I can’t help…falling in love…with…you.”_ They finished the song in the center of the room, with Jo’s arms around Clint’s neck and his hands placed respectfully on her waist, like they were at a sixth grade dance. 

_“Peace up, A town down!”_ A heavy beat pumped through the air, and the intimate atmosphere was destroyed under a symphony of “yeahs!” 

“That was…” Tony wasn’t sure how to finish that sentence. Beautiful? Yeah, he knows Jo dances all the time, but there was something real sweet and innocent about how she’d danced with Clint. As for the archer, Tony had never seen him look so peaceful. Unexpected? That’s a given. He thought spontaneous dancing like that only happened in overproduced romance movies. 

“That was Clint and Jo,” Natasha said. The two of them are dancing around like they’re high on acid now, and it’s such a change from the gentility of their earlier dancing that Tony can actually feel a headache starting at his temples. 

“They’ve never?” Natasha looked up to meet his eyes, and a secretive smile curled her lips. 

“No, they haven’t. They’re just…hmm.” Natasha turned back to watch the two of them, but Tony is watching Natasha now. 

“And you and him have never?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” At his disbelieving look, Natasha licked her lips and tried to answer in a way that made sense. “What Clint and I have is stronger than friendship and more than what exists between lovers. We just…are.”

“So, what are him and Jo?” Jo is wrapped around Clint like a belt at the moment, and Clint is balancing on his hands. Make that one hand. 

“I know you’ve read Clint’s private file, so you tell me.” Natasha had a brow quirked in his direction, as if she was challenging his genius. Well, alright. Tony’s mind flicked back to the file he read months ago and tried to call up the facts. Since joining SHIELD, Clint has only been close to Natasha and Phil. Phil because that was the only handler that could put up with his insubordinate ass, and Natasha because she’s Natasha. So, something before SHIELD then? Clint was raised in a circus, an orphan, but…Tony’s mind clicked, and he looked down at the assassin. 

“Back in the circus, Clint adopted another of the little carnies as a little sister. The file never said what happened to her.” 

“Died of pneumonia. Clint only knew her for two years, but Jo reminds him of Lily.”

“You could’ve just said they have a sibling bond,” Tony huffed. Spies and their damned secretive ways. 

“Now, where’s the fun in that?” Natasha asked with a smirk. 

“Iiiiii’m! Gonnnna! Huuuurl!” Jo squealed as Clint spun her around. His hands had a strong grip on her ankles, and Jo’s body was perfectly horizontal as they moved. 

“Suck it up, Josie!” Clint called as he released her. Tony watched as Jo flew the air and managed to crash into one of the couches. The force of the landing immediately had her shooting forward, and she rolled to her feet with ease. 

“You are so gonna pay for that, Tweety!”

“How is this my life?” Natasha made a sound that was similar to a snort and crossed her arms. 

“Just imagine what they’ll be like once they’re living together.”

**June 3, 2014**

“What have I said about pants in the lab?” Jo crossed her arms and scowled at the back of Tony’s head, because he didn’t even bother to turn around and look at her.

“Nice try, jackass, but I’m actually wearin’ pants today.” Tony spun around at that and let his eyes rake over her. Sure enough, Jo is wearing a pair of gray skinny jeans that have seen better days and a rare black tee shirt that says “Bite Me” across the chest. Her hair, which he now knows reaches her hips, is down too. 

“Why are you dressed?”

“Are you askin’ me to get naked?” Tony scratched the side of his head and let his eyes slowly move over her again. Jo rolled her eyes, because she knows his thoughts about her and none of them involve the two of them naked. “Whatever. We don’t have time for this. Have you seen the news?”

“Are they talking about me?” He looks positively gleeful, and Jo rolled her eyes. (If she rolls them one more time, they’re gonna fall out.) Tony may have come a long way, but narcissism is more than just a lifestyle. It’s a deeply ingrained personal trait. Or is that personality disorder?

“JARVIS, can you please turn the news on?”

“Right away, miss.” An image instantly popped up, and Jo jumped up to sit on a clean space of table at Tony’s elbow. Tony moved to prop his elbow on her thigh instead, and they both looked up at the images flashing in the air. 

“That’s definitely Thor, right? I mean, it has to be,” Jo said. The images are coming out of London, where all kinds of shit is going down. Jo had been at a coffee shop just a few minutes away when she looked up and saw what was happening. She rushed back to the house as quickly as she could, so of course Tony didn’t even know what’s going on. 

“JARVIS, get me Fury.” A moment later, there was a quiet click and Fury’s voice echoed in the room. 

“I don’t have time for you right now, Stark!” Jo could hear a flutter of movement coming over the line, and she could easily picture all the of the spastic agents rushing around. Yeah, Fury is definitely not having a good day. 

“What’s going on in London?” Tony asked quickly. 

“It’s being handled. Eris, do not let him leave.” Jo’s back straightened at the sound of her actual codename, and she nodded her head even though Fury couldn’t see her. 

“Yes, sir.” The line went dead with a quiet click, and Jo looked down at Tony. 

“Are you actually going to follow his orders?” Callused fingers gently ran through his hair and a strong calf was pressed gently against his ribcage; it’s how she gives comfort. 

“Yes, but not because he gave me an order. I’m not a SHIELD agent, remember? I’m going to do what he said because you’re not ready to rejoin the fight. I mean…fuck, Tony, you haven’t even rebuilt a suit.” As Tony closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against her thigh, Jo caught flashes of what he was seeing. Working all hours and not sleeping to build more suits, to make them better, to make _him_ better, and then watching them disappear in the fire. “Yeah, I know, I know.”

“We shouldn’t have to fight alone,” Tony mumbled into a denim encased thigh. Jo just kept petting his hair and tried to ignore the way his hands were shaking. He’s been doing so well lately, but they’re still not out of the woods yet. The shakes only start up whenever he’s stressed, or to be more specific, whenever he really wants a drink. 

“You’ll never fight alone again, boss,” Jo whispered. Sticking by his side is her job. And maybe, just maybe, it’s her privilege too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed the Jo/Clint dancing scene, I have a one-shot posted of their very first dance. It's called _Bang Bang,_ and it's the second part of the Archaic Kinds Of Fun series.
> 
> The Thor scenes mentioned are from Thor: The Dark World.
> 
> Songs Used: _Can't Help Falling In Love With You_ cover by Ingrid Michaelson / _Yeah_ by Usher


	5. That Stark Luck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _You can count on me_   
>  _Like one, two, three_   
>  _I'll be there_
> 
> _And I know when I need it_   
>  _I can count on you_   
>  _Like four, three, two_   
>  _You'll be there_
> 
> _'Cause that's what friends are supposed to do_   
>  _Oh yeah_   
>  **Count On Me by Bruno Mars**   
> 

**June 14, 2014**

“C’mon, Doc, back me up here.” Jo swung her legs back and forth as she stared Tony down from her tabletop seat, and the billionaire stared right back from his little stool.

“She’s not wrong, Tony. I think some fresh air would be good for you.” Jo fist pumped and started singing the Doc’s praises, but Tony’s loud mouth interrupted her mid-verse. 

“I get fresh air all the time! We fell asleep on the roof a few nights ago!” 

“Oh, that so does not count! Tell ‘im, Doc, that doesn’t count.” 

“It doesn’t. You need to get out of the house some, Tony. It’s not healthy.” Jo is pretty sure that the Doc doesn’t have much room to talk when it comes to healthy behavior, but he’s on her side so she’s not going to call him out on it. Not this time anyway. 

“The last time I left the house, someone tried to shoot me. You got shot!” Tony yelled and pointed at her. 

“I’ve triple checked with Fury, and there’s no one coming after you.” Tony opened his mouth, probably to argue further, but Jo raised her hand so she could continue. “I also had JARVIS do some hacking to back up Fury’s claim, and Clint did some undercover work too. No one is trying to kill you right now.”

“It sounds as if Jo has everything covered. You deserve to have some fun.” Oh, she really loves the Doc. Tony isn’t glaring at her anymore and is instead stroking his goatee, which means that he’s actually thinking about it. Jo crossed her fingers, and then her toes for a little extra luck, and watched on as Tony’s face softened. 

“Okay. Maybe, maybe!, we can go out for an hour or two.”

“Yes! Doc, you are the absolute best!” Jo cheered. Tony just looked up at her like she was crazy, but Jo’s past caring. She’s been trying to get Tony out of the house for the past week, but he kept turning her down. Maybe she should’ve called the Doc sooner. “I’ve gotta go put on some pants!” 

“Wait! Where are we going?!” She didn’t bother to answer Tony’s question as she ran from the lab, because they don’t call it a surprise trip for nothin’.

**.xXx.**

“I had to explain to Bruce that I’m not fraternizing with my paid bodyguard.” Jo snorted out a laugh and then tried to control her face as she looked over at her boss. He raised a brow at her too innocent look, and Jo lost it. She gripped the steering wheel with two hands as loud laughter shook her entire body, and she could hear Tony huffing angrily next to her.

“Sorry, boss. It’s just…me and you? What would make the Doc think that?” She slumped back in the seat and let her other hand rest on the car door, since the top is down on Tony’s fancy little convertible. 

“Maybe because a certain someone keeps laying around my lab without any pants on,” Tony said with a pointed look. Oh yeah, she does have a bad habit of doing that. Jo just has a small hatred of pants and doesn’t see the point in wearing any in her own home, and Tony’s house is her home. 

“You did explain to him that there’s no way that you and I would ever…you know?” This time it was Tony’s turn to laugh, and Jo poked him on the cheek. Tony swatted her hand away, so Jo lightly pulled on some of his hair and then went back to driving. 

“Of course I did. Like I would ever—I mean, you’re definitely, uh—”

“Just stop right there, before I have to pull this car over.” Tony grinned at her, wide enough to make his eyes crinkle, and Jo rolled her eyes with a smile of her own. 

“So, where are we going?” Jo just kept smiling and didn’t say a word. 

Her silence lasted all of five minutes, because her boss is a man used to getting what he wants. Not that he got their destined location out of her, but he did get her talking again. Then, to distract him, Jo got him talking about his numerous experiments. Once he starts talking about alloys and electrical whatevers, she normally tunes out and just lets him go. Tony loves to hear himself talk, so he normally doesn’t notice that she’s not really paying attention. It’s a practice that works well for both of them. Besides, she needs a little time to think. To be honest, she didn’t think Tony was ever going to leave the house. Which would be problematic if he was still planning on moving to the other side of the country.

It’s been a little over four months since Tony actually left the Malibu home. They’ve walked around outside, but stuck to the property lines, and spent a few nights on the roof…but that’s it. If Tony needs any materials, they’re delivered. Food? Delivered. Business? Online. The last time he left, he got shot at. She actually got shot, so she understands his reluctance to get out and breathe in the fresh air. She does. Keeping himself locked away isn’t healthy though, and she’s his bodyguard. She’ll protect him from anyone that wants to harm him, which is the easy part. The hard part is protecting him from himself, because what people don’t know, is that Tony is his own biggest enemy. It’ll take time, but she’ll find a way to save him from himself. She’s not going down without a fight, and she’s really good at fighting. 

It took two hours to reach their destination, and the sun was already starting to set. They parked in the middle of a sea of cars, and Jo loved every second of confusion on Tony’s face. It’s really hard to outsmart a genius, and she’s feeling a little proud of herself. Well, some of the credit goes to the Doc, who helped her talk Tony into this…She’s taking three quarters’ worth of credit for this little endeavor. Now all she has to do is get Tony close enough so that he can’t run away once he realizes exactly where they are. As if hearing her thoughts, Tony froze and blinked twice in quick succession. That’s not a good sign. 

“Nope. Get back in the car.” Tony turned on his heel and started marching back down the small dirt path, and Jo had to rush to catch up to him. She looped her arm through his and forcibly turned him back around, and Tony’s heels left small tracks in the dirt as she pulled him forward. 

“Would you quit being so stubborn?” Jo groaned out as she kept pulling Tony along. 

“I am not going in there. How could you possibly think this was a good idea? You’re evil!” As if to prove his point, a chorus of screams drifted through the air. Jo stopped pulling on his arm but held firm so he couldn’t get away, and Tony glared over at her. Like Jo’s scared of a little glaring?

“Tony, this isn’t _that_ bad.”

“Evil!”

“You’re being a little overdramatic, don’t you think?” Tony lightly gripped her chin, because he’s a gentleman, and turned her face towards the horizon. 

“Do you see that?”

“Yes, Tony.”

“Those are bright lights and giant swinging things. You. Brought. **_ME_**. To. A. CARNIVAL!” Jo turned her head back towards the billionaire, with his fingers still gently holding her face, and grinned. 

“Yes, I did. I brought you to a physical representation of happiness, and you are going to have a good time. C’mon, boss, don’t you trust me?”

“With my life? Yes.” Tony lightly patted her cheek and let his hand fall, and Jo raised a brow at him. 

“And with your happiness?”

“Still in the testing stage.” Oh, that was just what she needed to hear. She strengthened her hold on his arm and started walking again, with Tony’s cooperation this time. 

“Then let’s go experiment!”

**.xXx.**

“This looks like it’s held together by duct tape.” Tony eyed the giant ride, and he could feel Jo shuffling beside him.

“Where’s your sense of adventure, Tony? We had a deal; we ride every ride to make sure that we get the full experience.” At that, he looked over at his bodyguard and sighed. For someone who’s supposed to protect him, she sure is in a hurry to get him killed. 

“Let’s get this over with.” Jo cheered and clapped, like an overgrown five year old, and drug him into the line. They were seated within minutes, and Tony looked around the small harness holding him onto his seat to meet Jo’s dark eyes. Which were sparkling with barely restrained glee. “If I die, it’s on you.”

“You’re always safe with me, boss!” Jo called just as the ride started up. He’d been on the Tornado for less than a minute and was already over it, but Jo was screaming out laughter like it was the most fun she’d had in ages. Maybe keeping her cooped up in the house was a bad thing. Strong fingers wrapped around his as they stumbled off the ride, and Tony let their shoulders knock together. 

“Ferris wheel is the only ride left, so let’s go and then get back on the road,” he said and started for the brightly lit circle. 

“What?! No way, boss! We haven’t even played any games yet! Or gotten funnel cake!”

“Gotten what?” Jo’s grin was a little lopsided; the left side of her mouth quirked up a little more to reveal a dimple in her cheek. It made her eyes crinkle and her nose twitch, and Tony didn’t have it in him to say no as she pulled him over to a food stand. 

“Alright, boss, try some.” A plate was pushed under his nose, and his brown eyes crossed as he breathed in the thick scent. 

“Is this fried sugar?” The smell was clogging his nose, and Jo was nodding her head because her cheeks were stuffed full. Yeah, there’s no way he’s eating that. That’s a plate full of heart attack, and he doesn’t have super regenerative powers to clean out his clogged arteries. 

“Hold this and try some!” She pushed the plate into his hands, and some of the sugar and grease coated his thumb. When he looked up, Jo was handing some cash to a carny in a grease stained white tank top and brightly striped pants. The man handed over a giant hammer, and Jo walked over to where the man pointed. 

“Really? You’re going to do this one?” Jo was eying the top of the pole, and Tony rolled his eyes. “Don’t you have an unfair advantage?”

“Don’t know what you’re talkin’ about. Stand back, boss.” Tony took two steps backward and watched the way the muscles in Jo’s arms flexed and rolled as she brought the hammer down. For a split second, he could see Thor’s hammer crashing against Cap’s shield. He’s not in the woods though, with Loki lurking around nearby. He’s at a carnival, with his overly childish bodyguard, and watching as she jumps around in triumph. 

“Whattaya want?” the bored carny asked. 

“That dreamcatcher. The bright red one.” The man used a wooden pole with a hook on the end of it to grab the giant monstrosity, and Jo hooked it onto her belt loop. 

“You’re a cheater,” Tony pointed out as they walked away. Jo took back the plate of fried sugar, good riddance, and stuffed another handful into her mouth with a quiet moaning sound. It was indecent, and that’s coming from him. 

“All these games are rigged anyway, and I wanted a prize. It’s not like you’re going to win anything for me, Mr. Scrooge.”

“Mr. Scrooge was in a story about Christmas, not a carnival, and I could so win you a prize.” Jo poked his cheek, thankfully with a clean finger, and stopped in the middle of the walkway. 

“Oh yeah? Let’s see you win me a little somethin’-somethin’. I dare you.”

“What are we? Five?”

“I double dare you.”

“Really?”

“I, Josephine Holbrook, double dog dare you, Tony Stark, to win me a big prize!” Well, he can’t turn down a proper challenge like that. Now to find the right game. It only took a few seconds to find the right game, and he walked towards it with Jo giggling on his heels. Muffled giggling, because of the fried sugar. “You’re gonna win a rigged dart game?”

“Watch and learn, sweetheart.” Jo rolled her eyes at his very smooth wink, and Tony handed over a wad of bills to the carny working the booth. 

“Three darts. Hit three balloons, you get the big prize.” Tony looked at Jo, Jo looked at Tony, and the darts were thrown. There were three distinct pops, and he could hear Jo cheering as the carny stared him down. What? He won fair and square. “Pick a prize.”

“I’ll take that one.” Jo was still laughing when he pushed his prize into her free arm, and she blinked away tears to look down at her newest possession. 

“It’s purple.”

“Yep.”

“A purple unicorn.”

“Uhuh.”

“With a rainbow tutu.”

“Just what every little girl needs.” Jo gave him a look that would have lesser men begging forgiveness, but it just made Tony laugh. Which was his second mistake. Jo stuffed the last bit of fried sugar into his mouth and then laughed as he choked on the overwhelming sweetness. 

“C’mon, boss, walk it off!” Jo gave him one good slap on the back, and Tony glared up at her with watery eyes. His bodyguard just grinned and kept on walking. By the time they reached the front of the Ferris wheel line, Tony was breathing regularly again and actively repressing the taste still lingering on his tongue. 

“Please tell me this _adventure_ is almost over.”

“Almost. Just one last stop.” Jo pulled him into the bucket seat, which didn’t make him feel safe at all, and immediately pressed them together from shoulder to hip to knee. They could have had a little more room, but Jo let the oversized unicorn have its own sitting space. Tony’s pretty sure he caught her patting its head once it was situated. 

“So, this was your big plan? To take me to a carnival?” The metal squealed as they started moving, but Tony wasn’t worried. His bodyguard might be insane, but he trusts her with his life. Jo looped her arm through his, hooking their elbows together, and looked out over the carnival grounds. The lights from the Ferris wheel put red streaks in her hair and highlighted her cheekbones. 

“When I was little, Ma used to take me to this little fair. Much smaller than this. I looked forward to it all year, more than Christmas.” Jo’s voice was quiet and soft, despite its general roughness, and he could just barely see the dimple in her cheek from the way her head was tilted. 

“Why the fair?” 

“I don’t know. There was nothing special about it; it was just a day for us. The rides, the games, the laughter of other kids, the smell of bad carnival food…it was a day for us to get out of the house and just have fun.” The Ferris wheel came to a stop, and the little bucket they were in swung back and forth. 

“We’re at the very top.”

“Must be that Stark luck.” Jo turned to smile at him, and Tony thought that he got it. Just a little. Somewhere in the mess of getting him sober and keeping him that way, they became…something. It’s not something that Tony can even put a name on. They’re far from lovers but more than friends; Jo knows everything about him, and he knows more about her than most people do. They’re just… “Don’t think about it so hard, Tony. We’re just us.”

“And we’re stopped at the very top of a Ferris wheel. If we’re doing this the traditional way, then you know what that means.” He got to watch the way her dark green eyes widened as he reached up to hold her face in his hands, and she started to say something just as he tilted her head down and pressed a kiss to the center of her forehead. Jo huffed out a breath against his throat, probably a sigh of relief, and stretched herself just enough to brush her lips against the bottom of his chin. 

“Did you have any fun?” she whispered. Her head was tucked against his shoulder now, and his head was resting on top of hers as they slowly moved back towards the ground. 

“You know, I think I did.” He could almost hear her smug smile, but he could let it slide. Just this once.

**June 16, 2014**

“Don’t say a word.” The lab was completely silent, except for Tony’s fingers drumming against a tabletop. It’s been two days since Jo’s impromptu adventure, and this is the first time that Bruce has contacted him since his science bro sided against him.

“That bad?” Bruce asked tentatively. Tony groaned and let his head roll back on his shoulders. Yesterday morning was bad, because apparently getting thrown around on numerous cheap carnival rides gave the body a full workout and made his entire body ache. He’s not as sore today, but Jo has a workout planned for this evening so he’s pretty sure it won’t last. 

“She took me to a carnival, Bruce. A _carnival_. And she force fed me fried sugar.” Tony pinched the bridge of his nose and then gently rubbed, because he knows that Bruce knows that it wasn’t that bad. Because Bruce is Bruce, and he just knows things like that. 

“I’m sure you two managed to have fun. She wouldn’t have taken you there if she thought you’d hate it.”

“It was okay, but it’s over now. Is there a reason for this call? Are we talking science or carnivals?”

“Science, of course. I was looking through…” Tony opened his eyes, while still reclining, and that’s when he saw it. Hanging above his main work station, pinned to the ceiling by a length of yarn, was the giant red dreamcatcher that Jo won. The white beads in the center had been painted gold, and the feathers hanging from the bottom had been removed. The two central feathers were replaced by a small green tank and a small Iron Man head, and the two looked like they’d been taken off of keychains. There had been four outside feathers, two on each side, but now four bolts hung down instead. The bolts were painted gold, to match the beads, and Tony couldn’t stop smiling. 

“Tony? Are you listening?” Jo remade the dreamcatcher, for him. 

“Yeah, sorry, just thinking. You were saying?”

**.xXx.**

“A little bit of Sandra in the sun! A little bit of Mary all night long! A little bit of Jessica, here I am!”

“A little bit of you makes me your man!” Jo laughed as she was suddenly spun away from the stove, and she let Tony dance her around the kitchen while the rest of the song played. The billionaire even sung along with her and matched her hip movements, and Jo was out of breath from laughing so hard as they came to a stop. 

“Where’d that come from, boss?” She turned the stove off and moved her pot over to another eye, and Tony leaned against the bar across from her. 

“I’m not allowed to be happy?” Jo raised a brow, but she couldn’t hold the skeptical look for long. All she really wants is for Tony to be happy, which is still something she’s getting used to. For someone she didn’t know six months ago, he sure has gotten deep under her skin. 

“Happy? Yes. Gleeful? I don’t know; it’s suspicious. You didn’t come up with a plan for world domination or anything, did you?” 

“Really? World domination? I could’ve done that ages ago.” Tony was giving her a look, a very pointed look, and he was thinking something so loud that she could hear it even with her mental blocks up. She took a peek, just a little one, and then immediately started smiling. He found her present. She worked on it all day yesterday and hung it up early this morning, before Tony woke up. 

“Good to know. Now, eat your turkeydog and save your strength! We’ve got muscle building later!” She started walking off, because she’s got stuff to do that doesn’t involve watching Tony Stark eat his lunch, but Tony’s voice made her slow down. 

“Yay, more fighting against a dummy.”

“Nope! You’re fighting me today!”

**.xXx.**

“You can hit me a little harder. I’m not made of glass,” Jo said as she straightened out of her crouch. Her and Tony have been going at it for nearly an hour, and he’s pulled every single one of his punches. So has she, but her punches are a little harder than average.

“Nope, you’re made of flesh and bone.” Bones that can break and flesh that can bruise. Both of their minds are wide open, thanks to the little bit of adrenaline pumping through them, so seeing into Tony’s mind is just as easy as ever. He’s thinking about the way she looked _that_ night; the night that she goaded him into the beating the hell out of her so she could get him to break down and stop drinking. Once again, not her best plan. Even if it did work. 

“I know you’re not going to hurt me, Tony.” She plopped down against the blue mat, and Tony followed her down a little more slowly. They were both sitting cross-legged, with their knees pressed together, and Jo reached out to grab both of Tony’s hands. It got him to look at her, and she made sure to hold his eyes. “I mean it, Tony. We both know that you would never hurt me.”

“But I did.”

“Because I made you. C’mon, boss, we both know that I pushed you into that. I wanted you to fight me.”

“And that makes it okay?” He’s getting defensive, and Jo gets it. She does. Tony fights with words and wit, and sometimes a suit, but he’s never…not like that. 

“Tony, I’ve taken worse beatings than that from people I call friends. Maybe if I was someone different than I am it’d be worse, but I’m not. You can beat your fists against a tank all night long and it’ll still be untouched come morning.”

“You, are not, a tank. You’re a person.”

“I’m a mutant. That makes me a little special. Normal rules don’t apply,” she said with a small smile. She should’ve known that hand-to-hand training was going to be difficult to start with, but she thought they’d already moved past this. 

“I don’t care if you’re human, or a mutant, or the freakin’ Easter bunny. I never should have—” Jo surged forward to hug him, but they overbalanced and toppled onto the floor. Tony was pressed flat on his back and Jo was sprawled over him; her arms were trapped under his shoulders and his legs were still crossed. They should have been uncomfortable, but neither one tried to move. 

“You’re a good friend, boss.”

“If you say so, sweetheart.”

“Ready for round two?”

Ten minutes later they were squaring off against one another, and this time Jo wasn’t saying anything about Tony’s light punches. Maybe she should get one of those padded body suit things. It’ll slow her down, but Tony will be able to hit harder. Jo ducked a right hook and swept her leg out, but Tony easily jumped over her sweep and tackled her. Jo went down with a yelp, and her back hit the mat just hard enough to knock the air out of her. It wouldn’t be that big of a deal, if her boss hadn’t decided to take up residence on her stomach. 

“I win!” Jo jabbed him, lightly, in the stomach and pushed him off of her. With his weight gone, she could take a deep breath. Much better. Tony was sprawled out next to her and groaning quietly, and Jo grinned over at him. “I still won.”

“I’m pretty sure tackling is cheating.”

“I’m pretty sure it means winning.”

They were just getting ready to have another go at one another, they’d both progressed to their knees at least, when JARVIS interrupted them. Tony wrapped his arms around her head, so that her face was pushed into the top of his chest, and Jo grumbled against the sweat slick skin as she tried to push herself away. Tony’s strong when he wants to be, especially now that he’s eating right and exercising, but she could still break free if she wanted. Instead she slumped against him and tried to take in some fresh air. 

“What is it?”

“Master Thor is here, sir.”

“The Thor? Viking God Thor?” Jo was already on her feet, and Tony was still kneeling in front of her. 

“Could you be more of a fangirl?” She reached down to grab his hand and haul him to his feet, and she tossed an arm around his shoulder. 

“Don’t worry, boss. You’re still my favorite Avenger.” Tony was still trying to push her head into his armpit as they stumbled into the kitchen, and Jo immediately straightened up at the sight of the _god_ standing in front of the bar. Shoulder length blonde hair, bright blue eyes, bone structure that people could never pay enough to replicate…he was even in full battle uniform. 

“Thor! What brings you here?” Jo wouldn’t say that Thor was giant sized, but he was taller than pretty much every other man she’s been around. Clint is six feet tall, Tony’s an inch over that, but this guy has to be topping out at six-six. 

“Clint spoke of a new living space and said there was a room for me.” Something’s…off. She’s seen Tony’s memories of the god, and he normally looked a bit more upbeat. Even when facing down an alien invasion. 

“Yeah, I’m making a room for everyone. You sticking around?” The big guy shifted on his feet and placed a hand on the hammer hanging from his belt. 

“I have business to attend in Asgard. Afterwards, I would like to return here.” She can feel Tony’s mind now, and he’s confused about Thor’s behavior too. 

“You got a place with us, big guy. Is everything okay?” The question sounded strained, because this isn’t normal Tony behavior either. 

“I will explain all when I return, but I would ask a favor.” Thor’s big blue eyes reminded her of a puppy, and Jo wrapped her arms around her stomach to keep from crossing the kitchen and giving the big guy a hug. 

“Whatever you need, big guy.” Is Tony reading her mind? 

“Jane and I…we have gone separate ways.” Jo’s not sure who Jane is, but Tony’s thoughts are telling her that she’s an astrophysicist who’s been kind of dating Thor. Kind of, because of that whole different worlds thing. She was involved in all that stuff that went down in London. 

“Want me to keep an eye on her?” Thor shook his head and tightened the hold on his hammer. 

“No. Her…companion, Darcy Lewis, has gone a separate way as well at Jane’s request. My favor is that you make sure she is safe. Darcy Lewis is a brave and capable woman, but she is still…young.” Thor met Tony’s eyes, with what Jo is gonna describe as a pleading stare, and Tony sighed. 

“Yeah, of course. I’ll watch out for her.”

“Thank you, Tony. I shall return soon.” Tony and Jo both watched as the giant man strode out of the kitchen, and Jo leaned her head against Tony’s shoulder once he was out of sight. 

“That was weird, right?” Tony knocked his head against hers and then moved off towards the fridge, and Jo leaned her elbows against the bar. 

“Yes, that was weird.”

“You’re gonna check up on the girl though, right?” How do you say no to a god? Then again, if anyone can deny a god’s request, it’s Tony Stark. 

“I said I would, didn’t I? Now, what are you making me for dinner?”

“Roast beef with a side of egotistical maniac.”

“And a tall drink of insane bodyguard?”

“Comin’ right up.”

**June 29, 2014**

The house was quiet, which is the norm now. Unless Tony blows something up. Jo’s kinda thankful for the quiet; it means she gets paid to just relax on a roof and read trashy romance novels that JARVIS has delivered for her. Has she mentioned lately just how much she loves that AI system? Because she really loves JARVIS. She was just getting to the steamy part when the roof door opened, and she dropped a penny between the pages to hold her place. Has Tony ever seen a penny? Do rich people know what pennies look like?

“Please tell me your little Harlequin doesn’t have you thinking that hard.” Jo laid her book down next to her chair and spread her legs a little more, and Tony dropped down against her with a quiet huff. 

“What’s on your mind, boss?” Tony moved her hands over the arc reactor, and Jo pressed her skin against the cool metal. 

“Can’t you just read it?” Jo raised her knees as Tony settled his head against her chest and thought it over. 

“Stop being so lazy. What’s going on up there in that genius brain of yours?” Reading his mind would be quicker, sure, but sometimes it’s better to talk it out. Also, she’s feeling lazy and doesn’t wanna. 

“It’s the girl, Darcy. The one Thor wanted me to check up on?” Like Jo could ever forget that quick little convo? You don’t forget your first time seeing a god in person. 

“Yeah, I remember. What about her?” Tony sighed and started running his fingers across her arms, and Jo relaxed into the sensation. He’ll talk when he’s gathered his thoughts. 

“She’s got a degree in poli sci, so I don’t know why she was interning for an astrophysicist. She’s obviously intelligent, because she was able to keep up, so I don’t know why Foster let her go.” Okay, he sounds slightly agitated. He’s leaving something out; she can tell. 

“And?”

“And now she’s in New York and working at a _Starbucks_. She’s completely wasting her potential.” Tony sounded like the girl’s working situation actually offended him, and Jo lightly pressed her cheek to the top of his head. 

“Maybe that’s all she could find. The job market has been pretty rough lately,” Jo pointed out. She keeps up with the news sometimes, so that she at least has some idea about the state of the world. 

“It’s not fair.”

“Life’s not fair.”

“Ugh.” Jo chuckled, just a bit, and tightened her arms. Tony may be an egotistical asshole who’s too smart and rich for his own good, but he’s not so bad deep down. It’s too bad the world doesn’t know this side of Tony Stark. He might get shot at less. 

“If it’s really bothering you this much, I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”

“Hmph.” Looks like the genius is all out of words. Probably because his mind is whirring like a tornado. 

“So, boss, have you ever actually seen a penny?”

**July 3, 2014**

Tonight is her last night in the Malibu home, and Jo’s not sure how to feel about it. She’s left homes before. Her childhood home was sold to a family of four with a big dog after her Ma died, and all of the stuff she didn’t sell is in a storage unit in Shreveport. Xavier’s School slowly became her home over the years, but she hasn’t been back since she graduated ten years ago. She hasn’t really had a home since then, except for maybe Rio. And she left Rio to come here without too much thought. So…why is she staring at her gray blanket like she’s losing something huge? She’s just moving to another place, that’s all. Not for the first time and probably not for the last.

When Tony found her, she was sitting cross-legged in the center of the bed with her giant purple unicorn in her lap. There were a few boxes stacked against the dresser, but the room looked pretty much the same as always. Jo kept her eyes locked on Tony as he took in the few boxes and then as he walked over to the bed. He sat down next to her and flicked the unicorn’s horn, so Jo flicked his ear and held the unicorn to her chest. Tony may have won him, but no one flicks her Eugene. 

“Shouldn’t you still be packing?” Jo blinked, realized that Tony was serious, and slumped against his side. Tony moved his arm around her back and rested against her too, and they both looked at the boxes. 

“I’m done. Two boxes for clothes, one box for my knitting, that little one is for my books, my roof stuff is in the longer one, and I’ve got my shower stuff in a bag. That’s everything.” She shrugged, which moved both of them, and started petting the stuffed purple unicorn. 

“That’s all you have?”

“I only had a duffel bag when I first got here, remember?”

“We’re going shopping when we get to New York. We’ll get you a lamp or something, because this is ridiculous. Why don’t you have more stuff?” Jo moved her head into the crook of Tony’s shoulder and neck, and she felt him holding onto her hip. It’s comforting just to have physical contact sometimes; she’d forgotten how much she liked it. 

“For seven years, I lived on the move. Going from one job to the next, so I didn’t need a lot of stuff. A few clothes, a book or two at a time, and that was it. When I decided to take a break from SHIELD, I still lived on the move. The longest I stayed in a place was Rio, and that was only for a year. It’s kinda hard to collect stuff when you never stay still.”

“You’ve been running.” Yeah, Stark’s definitely a genius. Jo fell back against the bed, because she’s tired of looking at the boxes, and she drug Tony down with her. Tony moved them around so that her cheek was pressed against the upper part of his chest, and her fingers traced around the edge of the arc reactor. The unicorn wound up pressed between her stomach and his ribcage, and Tony’s fingers played with her unbound hair. 

“After the whole ROSE thing, I wasn’t myself. I was angry, and SHIELD gave me an outlet. Once the anger burned out, I didn’t know what else to do. So I just kept doing what I do best. I’m not proud of the things I’ve done. I’ve killed so many people, Tony, and I’m not even sure if they all deserved it.” So she ran. At least, she tried to. Outrunning your own demons rarely works out. 

“Join the club, sweetheart.” Ah, right, she’s resting on the Angel of Death. How could she forget?

“I was, uh, doing this job in Somalia, don’t ask, when I got up close and personal with some Stark tech.”

“You mean…?”

“Yeah, I kinda hated you for a while. Getting blown up by Stark tech hurts like a bitch.”

“Should I apologize?”

“Did you personally sell the wannabe pirate a bomb to blow me up with?” Jo tilted her head back to see the look that she could feel Tony giving her, and she smiled up at him. “Thought so. You didn’t know what was going on, and I know that doesn’t make it okay. You’re changing things now though. You’re a good man, Tony.”

“Yeah, well, keep it to yourself. I’ve got a reputation to uphold.” Jo walked her fingers across the glowing blue light and didn’t say anything. He can talk all he wants, but she knows the truth. Her words mean something to him, because they came from her. “You’re a good person too, Jo.”

“I’m gettin’ there.” Her words were slow and quiet, because she’s getting drowsy. It’s been a long couple of days, preparing for the big move, and she’s wiped. Tony must be too, because he’s not in any hurry to move. Then again, that could be because his lab has been packed up. 

“We should sleep. We’re going home tomorrow.” Home…she liked the sound of that. _Home_. 

“Can’t wait.” Tony’s arms tightened around her, and Jo snuggled down. Living in New York is going to be hard for Tony, at least at first, but Jo will be there. Maybe Malibu isn’t home and maybe New York won’t be either, but Tony? Maybe he can be home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I normally love canon relationships. Despite what's already happened, I love Tony and Pepper together. However, I am not the biggest Thor/Jane fan. They just never really seemed to click for me, so I'm sorry if you're a big fan of that ship. I am a huge Darcy fan though, so she'll be in the story.
> 
> I'm also still debating on how to handle the other movies that have come out in the MCU. I'm definitely going to be incorporating _CA:TWS_ into the story, with a few changes to help it fit. I'm still on the fence about _Ultron_ though. Thoughts would be appreciated!


	6. Thor Grant Me Strength

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _ah_   
>  _girl look at that body_   
>  _ah_   
>  _girl look at that body_   
>  _ah_   
>  _girl look at that body_   
>  **Sexy And I Know It by LMFAO**   
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small Warning: there's just a smidgen of violence

**July 4, 2014**

“Sweet Satan’s Asscrack! I love it!” Jo exclaimed as she looked up at the massive iron gate. Tony thought about asking where that particular phrase came from, realized he really didn’t want to know, and decided to forget it. Clint just whistled, and Natasha nodded at him in approval. Tony gave himself a mental pat on the back because if they’re this impressed by the front gate, they’re going to be blown away by the inside.

“Where’d you find this place?” Clint asked. They all pushed through the gate and headed up the front walk, and the four of them paused before going up the steps. 

“We are at 890 Fifth Avenue. This place was built in the thirties by my father, and I inherited it when he died. I didn’t want it then so I gave it to the company, and they’ve been using it for business parties and who cares what else. A few months ago, I bought it back. It’s mine and mine alone,” Tony said with a large smile. 

For once, he’s not grinning out of pride or greed. Well, maybe a little pride. The point is, this place isn’t just his. It’s _theirs_. The house itself is thirty-five feet back away from the street, so there’s room for a front lawn and a nice big wall for some privacy. When Tony repurchased the house, he reinforced the twelve feet concrete walls with steel. There’s also surveillance systems on every window and door that can identify who’s coming and going, because Tony still has a few anxiety and privacy issues. The whole place is wired up nice and tight to keep them all safe, and it’s built like a fortress. Maybe he’s a little more than just a little proud. 

“Can we go inside now?” Jo asked excitedly. Tony glanced over at his hyperactive bodyguard and then led the way up the stairs to the front door. The giant wooden door was completely smooth, and there was a small silver circle where the doorknob should be. Tony placed his thumb against the circle and watched it glow blue for a second. 

“Welcome home, sir,” JARVIS’s voice greeted as the door swung open. 

“That’s different,” Clint mumbled. 

“If the person isn’t approved to come in, JARVIS will put the house on lockdown,” Tony explained. 

“Isn’t that just a bit paranoid, boss?” Tony looked back just in time to see Jo close the door behind her, and he shrugged. 

“We can’t just let anyone wander in. C’mon, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover,” Tony said and walked farther inside. The foyer was huge, and three pairs of eyes moved around the space. Tony was watching their reactions and waiting for any questions. 

“Layout?” Natasha would be the first one to recover. Tony spread his arms to bring attention to the nice big chairs behind him, and his three roommates plopped into their seats (Natasha sat down in a more dignified manner) and waited. 

“To the right, is the kitchen and pantry. To the left, is the dining room. Behind the house is a pool, with a nice little deck so you can sunbathe. In the back of the house is a communal den, filled with fluffy couches and chairs.”

“And a TV?”

“Is that a serious question?” Clint just grinned up at him, like a jackass, and Tony rolled his eyes before continuing. Clint may joke around, but he’s just as much of an agent as Natasha is. So Tony is going to continue with the layout like a good little boy. 

“We’re waiting, Stark,” Natasha said with a pointed look. 

“The basement is where most of the fun is. The gym is now fully functional, along with the medical facilities so we can be treated here instead of in a civilian hospital. They should have finished installing the theater by now too, and I made us an arcade to play in,” Tony said with a look at Clint. 

“Sweet!” He looked at Natasha for her approval, and the redhead raised a brow. 

“I haven’t sunbathed in a while. Now what else?”

“All work and no play,” Tony sung. Natasha glared, so he decided to keep going before she resulted to violence. “Under that is the Assembly Room. It’s where all the secure files are going to be kept, and it’s impenetrable so it can act as a safe room if we need it.”

“How many sub-basements are there?” Clint suddenly asked. 

“Just two. Under the Assembly Room, there’s a Hulk room. It’s been completely reinforced, and it’s only here just in case there’s an emergency. It was Bruce’s only condition for moving in.”

“When do we get to our rooms?” Jo huffed. 

“The staircase only leads to the second floor, which is where the library is. The bedrooms take up floors three through six, the seventh floor is split between mine and Bruce’s labs, and they are only accessible through the elevator. Same for the basements.”

“Who gets which floor?” Clint asked. Clint and Jo were both sitting on the edge of their seats and looking up at him with bright eyes, while Natasha was sitting in cool composure. 

“The third floor has six guest rooms. Each bedroom has its own bathroom, but there’s a common living room area. The fourth floor goes to Cap and Thor, the fifth floor goes to the assassins, and the sixth floor is reserved for science and its bodyguard.”

“You, me, and the Doc? I’m cool with that,” Jo said and leaned back in her chair with a smile. 

“Do all of the floors have the same layout?” Natasha asked. 

“Basically. Each bedroom has its own bathroom, Clint requested a mini-fridge but there’s no kitchen, and all of the floors have a common living room area. The whole place is still big enough that we should be able to live together without killing one another.”

“Can we go see our rooms now? Please?” Jo was bouncing in her chair, Clint was perfectly still but blinking rapidly, and even Natasha was starting to look a little antsy. 

“Yeah. Come on.” Jo was the first one up, and Tony led them to the single elevator in the foyer. The only one in the house actually. They reached the fifth floor without any major problems, and Jo peered curiously into the homey looking living room. “Meet on the roof at nine!”

“Uhuh,” Clint mumbled as he walked off. The elevator doors closed, and Tony and Jo rode up to the next floor. Jo exploded out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened, and Tony watched the way her eyes ran over their living room. She took in the big couches and fluffy chairs, the big TV hanging over the fireplace, and kicked her sandals off to feel the carpet under her feet. 

“Your room is this way.” Jo bounced next to him as he led the way to her room, and he let his bodyguard open the dark wooden door. She froze in the doorway, and Tony waited for a reaction. 

Jo didn’t have much input on her room. When he asked her, she just said something normal would work for her. Clint had ideas out the wazoo and Natasha had a few special requests, but Jo didn’t want anything big. So Tony made it all up as he went along. Her bathroom and walk-in closet were next to each other and even connected, and he set up an area where she could exercise with her very own punching bag if she wanted to stay in her room instead of going to the gym. He also had some yoga gear close by, just in case. His biggest decision was where to put the bed. After a lot of debating with himself, he put it close to the balcony. If she sat up in the bed, she’d be facing the balcony. Her view was separated only by thin purple curtains that could easily be pulled back, but a glass wall would come down if the weather got bad. The balcony itself was huge, complete with a comfy couch and a table with a radio. In the event of bad weather, the whole balcony would be covered to protect everything. The color scheme was simple. Hardwood floors and wooden walls, rugs in purples and blues, a pink and orange lamp on the bedside table, a dark green blanket on the bed…it was a mixture of dark wood and an explosion of color. 

“Tony, it’s…I don’t know what to say.” Jo walked into the room, finally, and looked around. She hip-checked the punching bag and then steadied it, and her toes curled against the shaggy blue rug at the foot of her bed. Her fingers skated against the blanket as she walked to the other side of the room, and she looked up at the fireplace. There were only three things on the fireplace, for now, and Tony watched as she took them in. The stuffed unicorn was in the center and looking out at the room, and Jo gently tapped its horn. The picture on the left came from his “One Month Sober” party, where he and Jo were the only guests. Tony had been staring into the camera with a bored look on his face, two golden party hats strapped to his head so that it looked like he had horns, and Jo was playing air guitar in the background. The second picture was a new one. Tony had thought about throwing it away, but he hadn’t been able to. Someone had snapped their picture at the carnival that night, right when Jo popped that disgusting fried sugar into his mouth. The picture showed her laughing and him choking.

“Jo?” She’s been quiet for too long, and he can’t read her. She’s just standing in front of the fireplace, staring, and it’s starting to freak him out. 

“I don’t…Tony?” She turned to face him, and her eyes were just about to spill over. 

“Whatever you don’t like, we can change! Really! We can change anything you want, just don’t cry!” He walked towards her with his arms outstretched but didn’t touch her, because he does not know how to handle a crying Jo. She moved forward suddenly, and Tony squawked as he was yanked against her. Her arms were tight around his shoulders, and his own arms slowly moved around her waist. She was holding him so tight that he could barely breathe, but he didn’t want to say anything just in case he made her cry. 

“You’re such an idiot. If you change one thing in this room, I’m kicking your ass. Because it’s perfect. Absolutely perfect.” She pulled back to look at him, and she was smiling. A few tears had dripped down her cheeks, but she was smiling. That’s a good thing, right? Happy tears?

“You’re…welcome?” Jo hugged him to her again, hard enough to make his spine pop, and Tony groaned quietly. Not that it made Jo loosen her hold. 

“Best boss ever.”

“Yeah, yeah, lemme go.” He managed to push away from her, but he made sure to wipe her tears away before taking a step back. He doesn’t like the look of tear tracks on his overly strong bodyguard. “Wanna see my new lab?”

**.xXx.**

“So…pretty,” Jo whispered. She’s sitting in a giant cushioned lawn chair on the roof of the newly dubbed Avengers Mansion, and Tony’s currently taking up the space between her legs. Her fingers absently twirled his hair, because her main focus is reserved for the beautiful display of lights that seem to stretch across the entire sky.

“Do you ever pass up an opportunity to show off your wealth?” Natasha asked. She’s in a lawn chair of her own, and her bare feet are propped up in Clint’s lap. 

“Have you met me?” Natasha nodded as if to say “fair enough” and turned back to watch the show. Tony pressed a button on his phone and another firework lit up the sky. Jo grinned up at the red, white, and blue colors while Clint shouted, “For ‘Merica!”

“It’s too bad Steve isn’t here,” Jo said once she got her voice back. She’ll never get over how Captain America’s birthday is the Fourth of July; Steve Rogers was destined to be a hero. 

“I’m sure he can see it, no matter where he is,” Clint huffed. The display is abnormally large, so it’s not a huge stretch. 

“Happy Independence Day!” Jo yelled and threw her arms around Tony’s neck. Tony reached up to pat her arm, which was just an excuse to loosen her hold just a little, and released another firework into the sky. 

“I like that one,” Natasha said quietly. The giant red spider slowly faded and another one took its place. All in all, it’s not a bad way to spend the first night in their new home.

**.xXx. Bonus Scene .xXx.**

“Look, Mama! It’s Captain America!” Steve froze on his diner stool, but the little boy wasn’t pointing at him. Instead he was pointing at the TV hanging over the bar, and Steve leaned forward to get a better look. It’s a fireworks display, a very big one, in New York. The red, white, and blue fireworks created an image of Captain America in full uniform saluting. Steve just blinked and was amazed once more at how far everything has come. The next image was in bright red and gold lights, and Steve would know that face anywhere. Tony Stark. Not Iron Man.

“Leave it to Stark to show off his wealth,” the man next to him grumbled. A red spider was next, followed by a purple arrow, and then there was a giant green Hulk. Yes, that had to be Stark. 

“So pretty.” Steve looked to his other side, where a woman with a little girl propped on her hip was talking to one of the waitresses. The little girl smiled over at him, and Steve smiled back before looking at the screen again. Another Captain America was showing above Manhattan, and Steve ducked his head.

**July 6, 2014**

“Oh, good, you’re wearing pants.” Jo glanced down at her attire, khaki shorts and a blue v-neck, before looking back at Tony.

“Shorts, actually, but points for trying. Why are pants so important?” Tony might complain about her lack of clothing while in the lab, but he’s learned to accept it. 

“I’ve got a job for you to do.” She should’ve known when she rolled out of her fabulous bed and tripped over a small stack of books she’d taken from the library that today was going to be a bad day. She did break her pinky toe, and that’s never a good sign. 

“You mean something other than keeping you alive?” Jo cocked a hip and crossed her arms, but Tony didn’t seem phased in the least. She’s been too nice to him. 

“Obviously. I need you to run an errand.”

“Okay, boss, you gotta take the head gear off. I can’t take you seriously with those things on. You look like some kind of creature of the night.” Tony’s wearing his big heavy duty goggles, because he started work on a new suit yesterday. Part of Jo is freaking ecstatic because it means he’s getting better, but the other part is terrified because it means he can go and fight again. 

“Buzzkill,” Tony grumbled and pulled the giant goggles off. There was a line around his eyes that showed the difference between grease covered skin and slightly cleaner skin, and Jo sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. It’s like taking care of a toddler. “I need you to go to this address and procure something for me.”

“Go wh—” Jo’s phone buzzed in her pocket (her back pocket because for some reason girl clothes don’t have front pockets) and effectively cut her off. 

“We need to get some comms, with a JARVIS link up. What do you think, JARVIS?” 

“It would make simple communications much simpler, sir.” Tony nodded thoughtfully and started scribbling in the air while Jo inputted the address into the phone’s GPS. Once the location popped up, everything clicked and she narrowed her eyes at the boss. 

“Procure something, huh? I don’t think that’s how things work.” She’s working for a madman. She’s always known that, but it’s just so much clearer in this specific moment. 

“SHIELD procured you for me.”

“I’m an Alpha level mutant with a predilection for violence. I don’t count.”

“Buzzzzzz killlll,” Tony drawled out. 

“What does procure even mean in this case? Do you want me to just kidnap the poor girl?” 

“Wait, Alpha? Shouldn’t the whole healing thing knock you down to a Beta?”

“It can be controlled to an extent and being able to control the telepathy bumps me up to Alpha. Now, if we could stay on the current subject?” Tony blinked at her and then rubbed his eyes, which just made them as greasy as the rest of him, and stroked his goatee. Like a cartoon villain. Thor grant her strength. (Is it weird to pray to a god that you’ve actually seen?)

“No kidnapping. I’m offering her a job.” Jo bent at the waist so she could get on Tony’s eye level, and he just looked back at her like she was the crazy one. 

“What kind of a job?”

“I don’t like that judging little look you’ve got going on there. I want an assistant.”

“An assistant?” 

“Yes, an assistant. Someone to keep track of my schedule and help me around the lab.” This time it was Jo’s turn to blink in confusion. Isn’t that what she’s been doing? Well, she keeps track of his schedule. Sometimes. (Okay, JARVIS keeps track of his schedule and then tells her.) When it comes to the lab, she mostly just lays around on the little couch that Tony was nice enough to put in the lab. There’s one in Bruce’s lab too, so she’s pretty sure the couches are for the scientists to sleep on but whatever. The couch is comfy. 

“You want an assistant.”

“Yes.” Tony turned back to his work, and Jo just watched his back expand and contract for a few minutes. Her mind is in a whirlwind, because…what just happened? “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

“You’ve lost it,” Jo mumbled and turned on her heel. She’s gotta go find her shoes now; they’re probably still in the living room somewhere. Maybe she should buy another pair?

“You said I’d think of something, and I did. Now scat!” 

“Aye, aye, boss.” Jo sauntered from the room and prepared herself to go procure Darcy Lewis.

**.xXx.**

Darcy was not having a good day. She was having a horrible week actually, or month depending on how you look at it. When Jane decided that her help was no longer needed, Darcy should’ve just went back home. So what if she thought her and Jane were bros? Jane’s off doing her thing, and Darcy is…working at Starbucks. Ugh, just shoot her now. No, wait, she takes it back. With the way her luck is going, someone might actually shoot her. She doesn’t have the right kind of healthcare to cover bullet wounds, and she’s definitely not making enough to cover any kind of medical care on her own. She can barely afford the hole she lives in. On second thought, maybe getting shot isn’t such a bad idea.

“Darcy?” The voice was rough but definitely feminine, and Darcy looked up through the curtain of her hair. Well, her hair was just covering the left side of her face. Her right eye was giving her an unimpeded look of their only customer. 

“Congratulations on your ability to read. What can I get ya?” The woman quirked a brow and smiled, and Darcy copied the look. What? She’s working at _Starbucks_. She’s gotta have fun somehow. 

“I’m here to talk to you about a job.” This time, Darcy really looked. The woman was tall at five-seven, with tan skin stretched over curves that looked soft to the touch. Her dark green eyes were direct but open, her brown hair was put up into a giant ball, and her full lips were a dark pink color. She was dressed simply, in tan shorts and a dark blue v-neck, but there was a pair of expensive Aviators tucked into the v of the shirt. 

“Look, lady, no offense, but I’m not that desperate yet. You can try again when my rent’s due.” The woman blinked, in what looked like shock, and then bust out into laughter. 

“I’m not a hooker, but thanks for the compliment.” Yup, this woman is definitely crazy. It must be Darcy’s lucky week!

“The lunch crowd will be in soon, so can you hurry this up?” Darcy moved to go restock the cups and do other important stuff, and the woman leaned nearly all the way over the counter. Darcy was getting ready to fire out another quip, but the woman wasn’t smiling anymore. She was looking at Darcy’s arm and glaring at it like it just insulted her mother. 

“You’re hurt.”

“Your IQ must be in the triples. Are you going to order or not?”

“Not. I’m not a coffee drinker.” Darcy rolled her eyes and leaned her good arm against the counter so she could really look at the woman. 

“Then why are you in a Starbucks?”

“To offer you a job. Did someone hurt you?” The woman was peering at the hair covering the left side of her face, like she could see Darcy’s black and swollen eye. 

“I got mugged yesterday, but I’m fine.”

“Your left arm is broken.” She said it without any hesitation, but the woman is obviously crazy. Darcy’s arm is not broken. It’s just…sore. 

“Uhuh, sure. Tell you what, make your sales pitch. C’mon, dazzle me with this new job offer.” The woman actually shook her head and leaned back so that she wasn’t touching the counter at all. 

“Mr. Stark was impressed with the work you did for Dr. Foster and would like to offer you a job as his assistant,” the woman said with her rough voice. Her words were drawled out too, so she’s obviously not from New York. 

“I’m done assisting scientists.”

“Beats working at Starbucks, doesn’t it? Mr. Stark has money to spare, and he’s living here in the city. What’s there to lose?” Funny, that’s the same thing Darcy asked herself before going to work for an astrophysicist when she was just a poli sci major. She wound up losing someone that she thought was a friend, so there can always be something to lose that she hasn’t even found yet. The woman’s face softened, like she could hear Darcy’s thoughts, and she ran her hand across her jaw. 

“Why would Stark want me? I’m sure he’s got plenty of interns just dying to assist him.” Extra emphasis on assist. What? She can admit that the older man is attractive, and he is a genius. Jane might have disliked his lifestyle, but she never denied the man’s brilliance. 

“You want the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?” This woman is so weird! She’s gotta get out of here before the lunch crowd comes in or Darcy is gonna wind up losing her crappy job. 

“No. Lie to me.”

“Thor asked Tony to keep an eye on you, so he did, and he thinks that you’re wasting your potential. Tony does, but I’m sure Thor would think the same thing. Does Thor know what a Starbucks is?” Okay, now Darcy is really confused. She agrees with Stark though. Her potential is so wasted here. 

“You know Thor? Prove it.” Darcy went to cross her arms, winced at the pain that shot up her left arm, and leveled a look at the other woman. 

“He’s got these big blue puppy dog eyes that make you want to hug him.” Damn! Thor does have puppy eyes, which most people could never guess because he’s so huge. And, you know, a Viking god. 

“I don’t trust you.”

“Fair enough. Will you come with me now to meet Mr. Stark?” 

“How do I know you’re not trying to lure me out somewhere and kill me?” The woman frowned, actually frowned, and propped her hands on her hips. Her fingers must have hit against something, because she plucked something from her waistband and held it out. A harness. With a gun in it. “What are you doing?! You can’t pull a gun out here! You could start a riot or something!”

“Tony closed this place down before I got here. There’s no one here but us. Just, take the gun. If I make you uncomfortable, shoot me.” The woman placed the gun on the counter and pushed it towards Darcy, and Darcy gripped the butt of the gun before looking at the woman again. Stark shut down a Starbucks? That does explain why it’s so empty. 

“Are you insane?” The woman smiled enough to show a dimple in her left cheek and nodded. 

“Little bit. You coming?” Darcy tucked the gun into the waistband of her pants and made sure her shirt covered it, and she moved her hair so she could keep both eyes on the woman as she walked around the counter. The woman’s smile disappeared once she saw the black eye, and Darcy watched a muscle in her jaw tick. 

“Muggings are kind of common,” Darcy said as they walked outside. The world was still carrying on as usual, so that’s one good thing. 

“So is murder.” The woman has her Aviators on so Darcy can’t read her eyes, but her jaw is ticking again. Darcy touched the gun and felt a little better. “My name’s Jo, by the way. Well, Josephine, but I prefer Jo.”

“I guess you already know my whole name?”

“Darcy Kent Lewis. Interesting middle name.” The woman, Jo, smiled at her. It’s a little creepy, to be honest. 

“So, do you work for Stark too?” 

“Sure do. I’m his, uh, head of household?”

“Like his top maid?” Jo snorted out a laugh, but Darcy couldn’t figure out what was so funny. Being a maid has to suck. Probably not more than working at Starbucks, but it’s still not the best job in the world. Then again, working for Stark, normal rules probably don’t apply. 

“Yeah, something like that. Before we get there, I want to prepare you a little. Tony is an asshole about ninety-eight percent of the time. Underneath the ego and narcissism, he’s an alright guy. He can be a little grating at first, but he grows on you after a while.”

“Like a benign tumor?” Jo tossed her head back as she laughed, but Darcy still doesn’t get it. Stark’s maid is weird. 

Darcy stared up at the giant iron gate and swallowed the small lump in her throat. So this is Stark’s place? It’s massive. She totally gets why he needs a top maid now. He must need a whole army of maids to keep this place clean. Jo led the way up the front walk, up some stairs, and paused in front of the door. There’s no doorknob. There’s definitely a door, but there’s no knob. Jo placed her thumb against a small silver part, there was some blue light, and the door swung open. 

“Welcome back, Miss Jo. Welcome, Miss Lewis.” Darcy looked around for the owner of the voice as they walked inside, but she couldn’t see anyone. Jo must have noticed her confused searching, because she stopped walking across the massive foyer to look at her. 

“That’s JARVIS, Tony’s AI system. JARVIS is the best. Boss still in the lab?”

“Where else would he be?” Okay, the talking computer is sassy. She can dig it. Jo grumbled something under her breath and started walking again, and Darcy followed along behind her. Well, at least she wasn’t lying about working for Stark. They rode the elevator up to the top floor, and they stepped out into a room filled with blaring music and loud banging sounds. 

“Tony! Turn it down, will ya?! We’ve got a guest!” The music immediately dropped to a more tolerable level, and Darcy looked around the lab. There were tables and machines, metal everywhere, and it looked completely disorganized. Is that a couch in the back? A small robot streaked past her, and it’s either wearing a blue sock with pink hearts on it or she has officially fallen down the rabbit hole. 

“Jo! Why is Dum-E wearing a sock?!” She couldn’t see Stark, but she could definitely hear him. 

“It’s a sweater, and it makes him happy! Don’t take his happiness away from him! And get out here! I brought Darcy!” The little robot, Dum-E, zipped by again in his sweater. Is this reality?

“You got her on the first try?” Tony emerged out from under a car at the back of the lab (and how did that even get up here?), and Darcy watched with wide eyes as he stood up. Well, she wasn’t wrong about him looking good for his age. The engineer was wearing holey jeans, a black tank top, and nothing else. The man had grease on his toes! His dark hair looked wild and his eyes were clear, and Darcy’s eyes traced over the lean muscles of his biceps. 

“Don’t stare too much. If his ego inflates anymore, we’ll have to build another floor to contain it,” Jo whispered. 

“I’m standing right here,” Tony pointed out. 

“Which is why I didn’t shout it,” Jo said with a sweet smile. Darcy just watched them go back and forth while trying to figure out how she got there. Oh, wait, a strange woman found her at Starbucks. Right. 

“Did you tell her about the job?” Stark was looking at his maid, and Darcy bristled just a little. She flipped her hair away from her mouth and straightened her shoulders. 

“Standing right here, so you can talk to me.” Tony’s eyes narrowed on her face, and Darcy cursed. Mentally, of course. She’s gotta hold on to all the dignity she has left. Tony turned his glare onto the maid, who crossed her arms and glared right back. 

“She got mugged.” So, they’re not glaring at each other? They’re just glaring at the same time and happen to be facing one another?

“Yeah. Asshole stole my iPod.” She should probably be more upset about her eye, or arm, but people just keep messing with her music. 

“Tragic. Do you want the job?” Stark’s looking at her again, so Darcy straightened up and met his eyes straight on. 

“I’m not even sure what the job is. Your maid just said you wanted…an…assistant.” At the word “maid,” Stark fell apart. Literally. He had to hold himself up on a steel table, and Jo crossed her arms and huffed angrily. 

“Laugh it up, Tin Man! I couldn’t tell her I was your bodyguard, could I? She never would have believed that,” Jo said quickly. Wait…bodyguard? Jo, with her soft curves and pouty lips, is Stark’s bodyguard?

“Still don’t believe it,” Darcy added.

“Maid, really? Really?” Stark was wiping tears from the corners of his eyes, and Jo was tensed up all over. 

“Might as well be,” she grumbled. 

“Can I buy you an outfit?”

“Can I kick your ass?” Tony nodded at her and straightened up, and Darcy felt completely lost. They’re insane! 

“The job is to be my assistant. Keep track of my schedule, take notes for me, and help me around the lab. It’s all very simple.” Simple, right. Darcy’s got a feeling that nothing is simple with Stark. Going by the small snort that just came out of Jo, the _bodyguard_ agrees. 

“Will I get paid?” She was just an intern for Jane, not an actual assistant, which is why she’s hurting for cash right now. 

“Oh yeah. Also, as a Stark employee directly under me, you’ll get a protection clause. Jo will be your bodyguard too.”

“I will?”

“She will?”

“You’ll get a pay raise,” said to Jo. Stark turned towards her, looked at her eye, and forced a smile. “She’s really good at her job. Don’t let her appearance fool you.”

“Yeah, she looks positively deadly,” Darcy drawled. 

“Where’s Natasha when you need her?” Jo whispered to the ceiling. 

“Miss Natasha is currently by the pool,” JARVIS informed them. Jo hummed, and Darcy blinked. How many people live here?

“So, the job is pretty easy, you’ll get paid more money that you’ll know what to do with, and you get to live here.” She has a feeling the job will not be an easy one, she knows exactly how to spend money, and she’ll be living where? “Don’t give me that look. I work weird hours, and no one should live in that hovel you call an apartment. I’ve got six empty guest rooms. Pick one.”

“Can I think it over?”

“Do you need to?”

“Thor’s going to be living with us when he gets back,” Jo whispered out of the side of her mouth. Darcy does like Thor; he’s a big goofball slash god slash really good guy. 

“Alright, I’m in. Don’t I have to sign contracts or something?” Tony snapped his fingers and documents appeared in Darcy’s face. Holographic documents, of course. Tony tossed over a stylus, Darcy caught it with her good arm, and Jo smiled over at her. 

“First document is a general job description and salary.” Darcy looked it over and felt her eyes pop. Okay, Stark must be out of it, because that’s too many zeroes. “The salary is right. You should see how much Jo makes a month.”

“I get paid to save your ass, and your ass is very valuable. Looks reasonable to me.” The last part was directed at Darcy, who just blinked. 

“You can’t mean that much. Five thousand is ridiculous.” Stark looked confused, so she was right! She loves being right. 

“Oh, no, five thousand is the start-up bonus you’ll receive as soon as you sign. Your monthly salary is ten.” She’s gonna pass out. She can feel all the blood rushing from her head, and Jo lightly gripped the bicep of her hurt arm to keep her steady. 

“Are you cr-azy?” Her voice broke, because she’s still trying to regulate her breathing. Slow deep breaths. 

“Little bit. Hurry up and sign. I’ve got work to do.” Darcy signed and tried not to think about signing her soul over to the Devil. Then again, with that goatee, Stark could be the Devil for all she knows. 

“Okay, next document is a privacy thing. You can’t discuss any of the experiments with outside sources, you can’t discuss the people who live here in the mansion with any outside sources, blah, blah, blah. You’re sworn to secrecy and all that. Breach contract and suffer the consequences. Sign please.” A secrecy clause, huh? At least this is kind of familiar. She had to do the same thing after New Mexico and after what went down in London. 

“Anything else?” she asked as the air in front of her cleared. 

“Jo is a mutant with super strength, super healing, and telepathy. Two assassins live here and they work for a secret government agency. I think those are the only big things for now.”

“SHIELD?” Tony nodded, and Darcy looked over at Jo. A mutant with super strength, super healing, and telepathy. 

“It’s weird, I know,” Jo shrugged. 

“Did you read my mind earlier?” 

“Only for a few seconds. Your mind is very calm and relaxing, which is really rare,” Jo said with a little smile. 

“Right, okay. I’m gonna go pack up my apartment.”

“Already sent someone. Your stuff should be here soon,” Stark said with a bright smile. 

“How’d you know I’d say yes?” 

“Why would you say no?” Tony countered. It’s a good counter, but he still assumed a lot. He’s also Tony Stark though, so he’s probably not used to things not going his way. Wait…yeah, that’s right. 

“Tony?” Jo waited until Stark was looking at her before continuing. “I’m pretty sure her left arm is broken. She needs to see a doctor.”

“Like at a hospital?” 

“Yeah, like at a hospital.”

“Can I just call one here? I don’t feel like going out.” Jo sighed, pinched the bridge of her nose, and leveled a look at Stark. This is a weird thing that’s happening. 

“Yeah, sure, go ahead. I’m gonna show Darcy to her floor and let her pick a room. JARVIS, do you mind directing the movers to her room?”

“Of course not, Miss Jo.” 

“Oh! Before you go, Darcy, can I have your iTunes info?” Darcy looked over at Stark, who was looking at her with a very good poker face. What’s he up to?

“Why? It’s no good without my iPod, which was stolen, when I got mugged.” Tony shrugged, so Darcy rattled off her username and password. Tony blinked when she was done, like he was saving the information, and then grinned at them. 

“JARVIS, I want the best orthopedist in the city here within the hour. Also, order some pizzas for dinner tonight. Dining room at six?” 

“Yes, sir.”

“Yes, boss.” Wait a minute, is she dreaming? Is she gonna wake up back in her one room apartment with a leaky ceiling and a rat staring her down?

“Ow!” Darcy rubbed her side, which was stinging. Jo pinched her!

“At least now you know you’re not dreaming. C’mon, let’s go pick out your room.” Darcy followed Jo out of the lab, and they rode the elevator down to the third floor. The elevator opened to show a giant living room, with plenty of seating options and a TV that looks bigger than her bed back at the apartment. Jo walked her around all six bedrooms, and Darcy picked the one with a small balcony that had a small garden growing on it. What? She likes the smell of flowers. 

“Why are you guys doing this?” She was sitting on a king sized bed, with a mattress softer than angel feathers, and trying to figure out just what was going on. This morning she thought her life couldn’t get any worse. Now she’s apparently living in a mansion and just had five thousand dollars deposited in her bank account. She got a text to prove it. 

“Who knows why Tony does anything?” Darcy just gave her a look, because the woman is a telepath. A real telepath is standing in her new bedroom. “Trying to read Tony’s thoughts is like trying to ride a hurricane.”

“Can you do that?” Jo’s laugh lit her up, and there’s no way she can picture this woman as a bodyguard. She looks too…nice. 

“I don’t know, I’ll give it a try one day. Do you want me to stay here until the movers get here? Or the doctor?” 

“No, that’s okay. I think I need some time to think things over. I feel a little…”

“Unbalanced?”

“Stay out of my head,” Darcy said with a very menacing finger point. 

“Don’t need telepathy to figure that out. Don’t worry, Darcy, you’ll be safe here.” Jo smiled at her one last time and then started for the door. She was almost completely through it when Darcy felt something poke her hip. 

“Wait! You forgot your gun!” Jo paused just outside of the doorway and looked over her shoulder. 

“I don’t need it.” With one last wink, the woman was gone. If she didn’t need it, then why did she have it? Oh. She brought a gun specifically to give to Darcy, so that she would feel safe. Yep. The word of the day is _weird_.

**.xXx.**

“What are you up to, boss?” Tony was moving things through the air at a rapid rate, so Jo hopped up onto a table and watched the way his fingers moved. He’s kinda graceful actually when he’s in his element. Ha, element.

“Darcy settled in?” Tony asked. He normally sounds distracted when he’s working, but he sounds completely focused right now. So he’s multitasking. 

“Yeah. She wanted a couple of minutes to herself, so I thought I’d come see what you’re up to.” Everything that just happened was really fast. Two hours ago it was just the four of them, and now there’s a fifth member in the Mansion. Hey, Tony has an assistant now! That means she’ll have a little more free time, which she’ll probably spend on the couch in the lab. 

“Just doing a little research. I’m gonna go down when the doctor gets here to make sure he doesn’t mess up.” The doctor, right. Because some asshole roughed up Darcy and stole the girl’s iPod. Sometimes, Jo really hates people. The black eye was enough to get her boiling mad, but the asshole actually broke her arm. Darcy probably fought back. Maybe she should give the girl some self-defense lessons. 

“Sounds like a good idea.” Tony looked over at her, and Jo had to forcibly unclench her jaw. What? Yeah, she’s known for her violent ways but she’d never hurt someone without a good reason. Well, not anymore. She’s sure SHIELD had good reasons. 

“You’re really upset.” Tony was looking up at her, but she couldn’t read the look in his eyes. She’s not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. 

“The asshole broke her arm.”

“Wanna make a house call?” Okay, she wasn’t expecting that. Jo glanced at the hologram and saw an address pinpointed. 

“Did you hijack Darcy’s iPod and find the mugger’s location?” 

“I don’t like the skepticism in your tone. I’m Tony Stark.” 

“Of course you are. Send that to me,” Jo said and slipped off the table. 

“What if he’s not the mugger?” Tony called after her. Jo felt her back pocket vibrate and smiled. 

“I’ll know,” she said and tapped the side of her head. “Don’t scare away Darcy, and I’ll be back in time for dinner!” 

Her GPS led her to an apartment building that had seen better days, and thanks to Tony it even led her right to the possible mugger’s door. She could hear someone thinking inside, just one person, and she didn’t like his thoughts. He was thinking about a woman, not Darcy, and the fear in her eyes as he took her purse at knifepoint. Well, even if this isn’t Darcy’s mugger, it’s still a mugger. Jo stepped back, rolled her shoulders, and kicked the door in. She heard the guy yelling as she stepped over the fallen door, and she tucked her sunglasses into the collar of her shirt. 

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!”

“Did you meet a girl yesterday about yea high,” she held her hand up in front of her face because Darcy’s only two inches shorter before continuing, “thick brown hair, big blue eyes, kinda curvy like me?”

“Fuck you!” Eh, she doesn’t need a verbal answer. She can see Darcy’s face in his mind, and she was right. Darcy did fight back. This asshole held a knife to her throat, so Darcy kneed him where he counts. Then he sucker punched her and slammed her arm between a brick wall and a dumpster. 

“Wrong answer.” Jo stepped forward and paused in front of the small coffee table. A small red iPod was sitting off by itself, minus headphones, and it was screaming up at her. Jo grabbed it and stuffed it into a pocket, and the guy charged her. He pushed her up against the wall, held one forearm across her throat, and let his little knife touch against her stomach. 

“You broke into the wrong place, bitch,” the guy growled. Dude, this is so cliché that she can barely contain herself. 

“You mugged the wrong girl.” She head-butted the guy, laughed as the blood from his nose made him gurgle, and grabbed the hand holding the knife in her stomach. She twisted his arm behind his back as she slammed his face against the wall, and then she pulled him back so she could slam him one more time. His face against the brick wall made a satisfying sound. “Bitch.”

“Wha’ ‘oo ‘an’?” What does she want? Jo pushed on his arm until she heard a quiet crunch, and the guy wailed through the blood clogging his throat. Even Darcy didn’t scream that high when he broke her arm. 

“I’m just doing my civic duty to keep assholes like you off the street.” Her phone beeped, which is her cue. 

“The cops will be here in five minutes, and we both know that they’ll find all kinds of illegal stuff in here. Next time, think before you act, okay? Because I really don’t want to come back here.” Jo let him go and took a step back, but she paused when something in her stomach pulled. Huh, in all the excitement she didn’t realize she’d been stabbed. She pulled the knife out and dropped it, because thanks to her time working for SHIELD her mutant-like prints don’t exactly show up. “You got blood on my shirt. I liked this shirt.”

“I—” Jo slammed his head against the wall hard enough to knock him out but not nearly enough to kill him; she’s not in the killing business anymore. She stepped over his unconscious body, stepped on the fallen door, and calmly left the apartment building. She was turning a corner when she heard the sirens, and she couldn’t hide her smile. She loves the smell of justice in the morning. Or afternoon. Evening? Whatever. Job well done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry to everyone who doesn't like overly long descriptions. I like being able to picture things, I'm a visual learner, so that's why I described Avengers Mansion and Jo's room. Feel free to speculate on everyone else's rooms though!
> 
> I had way too much fun writing in Darcy's POV, so you'll get to read things from her perspective pretty regularly. There was also a Cap cameo, because I just couldn't resist myself.


	7. Doing The Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _family_   
>  _people you love and love you back_   
>  _not necessarily blood or biological_   
>  _you trust them and they trust you_   
>  _they take care of you and you take care of them_   
>  **Third Definition of Family on UrbanDictionary**   
> 

Jo eased into the foyer and leaned back against the door. Her stomach is all healed, but she’s going to have to change shirts before dinner. Well, before devouring greasy pizza in a mockery of dinner. Oh, who is she kidding? She _loves_ having pizza for dinner. She doesn’t have to cook, and JARVIS knows the best places in town. Changing first though. Eating at a nice dining room table in a blood stained tee shirt is a little too barbaric, even for her. She pushed off the door with her shoulders, opened her eyes, and froze. Darcy was stepping out of the elevator, with Tony right next to her. Looks like she was right about Darcy’s arm; she’s got a bright red cast on it now. 

“Hey! Jo, you’re ba—bleeding? Are you okay?” Huh, Darcy has some seriously blue eyes. And right now, they’re tracking over the dark stains on her shirt. 

“Bleeding? Pfft! This is just…mountain dew?”

“Do I look like an idiot?” Jo reached up to scrub a hand across her jaw, because her hair is up and she can’t pull on it, as she tried to wrack her brain for an answer. 

“I found your mugger,” Tony stated casually. Darcy whipped her head around to stare at him, and Jo felt like doing an actual face palm. Maybe she should set up a vocabulary lesson with Tony, and they can have a word a day. Secrecy. Tact. Subtlety. Timing. Like that would ever actually work? With a mental sigh, Jo reached a decision. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. 

“I found your iPod,” Jo added. She passed over the little thing, and Darcy held onto it like it was going to run away. 

“Did you kill him?” Darcy asked in a rushed whisper. Jo looked at Tony, who just shrugged and nodded at the same time. 

“Um, no. We had a little talk and then I left before the cops showed.”

“Oh,” Darcy said as her shoulders visibly slumped. Was Jo supposed to kill him? Tony’s texted instructions definitely told her not to kill him and to clear out before the cops got there, which is exactly what she did. “Did he hurt you?” 

“Nope.” Jo raised her shirt to show smooth skin, and a little bit of blood, and then smiled. Everything is just fine. Yep. Just fine. “So, I’m going to go change and then we can eat pizza.”

“Hurry up or it’ll be cold!” Tony called after her. Jo waved a hand over her shoulder and hurried off to go change. She found a white tee shirt hanging off a bed post, and she quickly yanked it on. The blue shirt got tossed into her trash pile, and she’s a little sad that she even has a trash pile for her clothes. Maybe she should start buying those pack of shirts from Wal-Mart. 

When she got to the dining room, several pizza boxes and bottles of water were on the table and three chairs were already occupied. Darcy was sitting next to Tony and across from Clint, and Jo met the archer’s eyes as she stepped inside. Tony was doing the whole introduction thing, and Clint was using his charming smile as he talked to Darcy. Jo snagged a bottle of water as she sat down next to Clint, and she pulled over a pizza box to dig into. 

“A bow and arrow? Seriously?” Darcy asked. Clint squawked like the hawk he is, and Jo smiled around the bite of pizza in her mouth. At the sound of very quiet footsteps, Jo raised her head and waved to Natasha. She was then immediately shot in the head. The force of the shot toppled the chair back, and Jo heard Darcy scream as she crashed onto the floor. 

“Dammit, Tasha! Not at dinner!” 

“We’re supposed to work Darcy up to that, Natasha.”

“What was that for?” Jo groaned from the floor. Her head was still feeling a little tender, and her cheese pizza tasted sour in her mouth. Ugh, nausea. 

“You’re alive?!”

“You bet, kiddo,” Jo grunted as she pulled herself into a kneeling position. Her hands were gripping the edge of the table as she rested on her knees, and she looked across the wooden monstrosity at a very pissed off Natasha. “What was that one for?”

“You were compromised,” Natasha bit out. 

“What? Impossible.”

“Did you sweep the place before going in?” Natasha asked as she holstered her gun. 

“It was a rat hole, Nat. Who there would recognize me?” 

“One of Marshal’s men spotted you.” Marshal, mutant, good with emotions, and not one of her biggest fans. 

“Seriously? _Fuck_.” Jo rubbed against the center of her forehead, where the bullet went through, and staggered to her feet. “I’ll take care of it.”

“You will stay put, and I will take care of it. Next time, be more careful.” Natasha’s fingers flexed, like she wanted to grab her gun again, and then she quietly strode from the room. Jo righted her chair, plopped into it, and then dropped her head onto the table. 

“You okay, Jo?” She gave a thumbs-up without raising her head, which must have been enough to reassure Darcy. “Does this happen often?”

“That’s only the second time this week,” Tony said. He left out the part where they’ve only been living together for two days, but Jo’s not in the mood to correct him. 

“Don’t worry, Jo. Natasha will catch the bastard before he reaches Marshal.” Jo groaned in place of an answer and decided not to comment. How could she be so careless? 

“I still can’t believe she shot you. _In the head_ ,” Darcy drew out. Jo raised her head up enough to look at the girl across the table, because Darcy is…compared to the rest of them, she’s so innocent. 

“Nat tends to do that when I’ve done something to piss her off,” Jo said with a lopsided smile. Clint made a quiet humming sound, and Jo cut her eyes over to the archer. “What’s that for?”

“I don’t think she’s mad at you,” Clint shrugged. He’s not meeting her eyes though, and Clint’s a very direct person. Out of respect, Jo never looks into Clint’s mind. Especially not after what happened with Loki. She’ll just have to get it out of him the old fashioned way then. 

“Oh yeah? There’s an impressive blood splatter on the floor that says otherwise.” Normally Jo would be on her knees trying to get the blood out of the carpet, but Tony told her not to worry about it. She’s not really sure why hearing his thoughts are so easy when her head is pounding like an alarm, but she’s given up trying to figure out how her and Tony work. 

“You were compromised, Jo. She’s just worried.”

“She shot me because she’s worried about me?” Clint finally turned to look at her, and Jo just blinked at the little smile curving his lips. Well, at least one person is getting some amusement out of this. 

“You really gonna judge someone else’s moral code?” Jo snorted, like a lady, and shook her head. She’s not really the judging type; it’s kinda hard to judge anyone when you’ve done so much wrong. 

“Wanna tell us who Marshal is? Or do I get to hack SHIELD today?” Jo propped her elbow on the table and cradled her cheek in her hand, and Tony’s eyes looked right at her. Like he could read her mind if he tried hard enough. 

“My last job for SHIELD, before I retired, was to take out a mutant named Lena. She had shield powers that could protect her from both physical and mental attacks, but Fury thought I’d be able to break through. He was right. It took a couple of hours, but I managed to kill her.”

“What’d she do?” Darcy asked. She looked calm enough as she ate a slice of pepperoni pizza, so she must not be the judging type either. 

“Her and Marshal traded stolen artifacts in the black market. It’s normally not my thing, but Lena crossed a line. Some school in Romania was built over a vault, and Lena really wanted something inside of it. Wanted it so bad that she was willing to kill sixty-seven children to get it. I might have some regrets, but she’s not one of ‘em.”

“We watched the whole thing. It took Jo over two hours to get through the shield; it was beautiful work.”

“Thank you, Clint.”

“So, this Marshal guy, I’m guessing he loved her? That’s why he wants you dead, right?” Perceptive. Jo is really starting to like Darcy Lewis. 

“Yeah, he loved her. Marshal is an empath, so he can influence emotions. Not too many at one time or for too long, but he can do a lot of damage in a short span of time. Luckily, the telepathy protects me from his influence. Pisses him off something horrible though.” Oh, _her head_. It’s gonna be at least an hour before the pain wears off. Maybe she should go close her eyes somewhere. “Natasha will take care of it though, so I’m not worried. Boss, I’m gonna go lay down for a bit.”

“Want me to bring up pizza later?” Tony asked as she passed his chair. 

“Nah. Just put the leftovers in the fridge.” Tony nodded, she could feel Clint’s eyes on her, and Darcy called out a quiet goodnight. Jo closed her eyes once she was in the elevator and slowly massaged her temples. It’s been such a weird day, but she’s okay with it. At least, she will be once the headache is gone.

**.xXx.**

She knew the moment that Tony walked into the lab, because she can always hear Tony’s mind. Not the individual thoughts, that takes some digging or for Tony to be mentally shouting at her, but she can feel his mind’s presence. There’s so much going on in that genius brain of his that his thoughts just seem to surround her. At first, it was kinda annoying so she kept her mental blocks up all the time. Now? Well, now it’s kinda comforting being surrounded by all those brilliant thoughts. Jo was so caught up in the soft push and pull of his thoughts that she barely felt it when the genius laid down against her.

She fell asleep on the couch in his lab so that he would find her, because Tony makes her feel better. He doesn’t judge her or look at her like the horrible person she can be, and she could use that right now. She fell asleep on her back, and her legs must have went all akimbo as soon as she was unconscious, because Tony easily moved into the space between her legs. He was laying on his back too, so that the back of his head was pillowed on her chest. Jo’s hands immediately moved down to cover the arc reactor, and Tony’s fingers lightly moved up and down her arms. 

“What’s got your head in a tizzy, boss?” Her voice came out sleep rough and a little scratchy, so she was super excited when Tony handed her a bottle of water. 

“The suit…it’s only halfway done, but I can’t…Ugh.”

“Very eloquently put.” Tony groaned and wiggled against her, so Jo moved one hand up to play with his hair as she let her eyes close. Tony’s thinking about the first suit he made. Not the red and gold one that he’s so famous for, but the hunkering tin can that he built in a cave. He’s thinking about all the suits he made after New York; suits that would make him better so that he would _never_ have to be so scared again but a suit can’t keep the nightmares away can’t keep the bad guys away can’t keep Pepper safe he can’t keep Pepper safe the suit isn’t good enough he’s not good enough notgoodenoughnotgoodenoughnotgoodenough…

“Damn, Tony. You make my inner turmoil look like a Sunday picnic.” Her words were light, but her left arm was holding Tony closer against her while her right hand gently combed through his hair. His hands were shaking against his stomach, where they were laced together, and Jo didn’t really know what to do other than just hold him. 

“Pep talks really aren’t your thing, huh?” She rubbed her cheek against the top of his head and spread her fingers over the arc reactor, and Tony relaxed against her. 

“‘Fraid not, boss. I’m not good at being comforting either, so, sorry?” Tony huffed as he covered her hand with his own, and Jo couldn’t see the glowing blue light of the arc reactor at all. 

“You always know how to comfort me. You must have had friends or someone that you cuddled,” Tony said and tipped his head back just enough to wink at her. She pulled on some his hair and flicked his ear, which made him roll his eyes and flop his head back against her. 

“I’ve only ever had one serious relationship, and it wasn’t really all that serious. We didn’t really cuddle either, and one night stands never do the cuddle thing. As for friends, I only had two at Xavier’s. Kitty and Peter. Kitty is tiny and wonderful, and Peter can kick my ass but is the sweetest guy. They’re good friends, but I never had to comfort them. We existed together in peace and harmony.”

“Sounds lovely,” Tony drawled out. 

“Yeah, it was.” Parts of her really miss being around Kitty and Peter. “They’re still at Xavier’s, teaching now though.”

“You’ve gotta talk to more people than that. What about the mutant with an attitude problem?”

“Hey, no dissing the mighty Wolverine or we’ll fight. Also, his name is Wolverine. No comfort required. Then there’s Anna Marie, but she never needed comforting either. You’re the first, boss.” She wrapped both arms around his chest and rocked side to side, and Tony swatted at her arms until she released him enough so he could breathe. 

“Anna Marie…Codenamed Rogue?” Of course Tony knows who all the X-Men are. 

“The one and only. Remember how I told you that Logan got his memories back when I was twelve?”

“Yes. I have an excellent memory.” Tony tangled their fingers together and laid them under the arc reactor, and Jo pressed her temple against the top of his head. 

“He disappeared for most of the second half of the school year, an entire summer, and then returned in the middle of the next school year with a little girl. Rogue is five years younger than me, and Logan found her living on the streets. He found a homeless seven year old. Since you know her codename, I’m assuming you know her mutation?” 

“She absorbs stuff, right?”

“Skills, mutant powers, life force, and even memories. Her powers manifested at an extremely young age and she ran away, so that’s why Logan found her living on the street. She’s like a little sister, but she wouldn’t let anyone touch her for years. For obvious reasons. By the time she learned to control everything, she’d made peace with it all. She’s teaching at Xavier’s too. History and control.”

“So, I’m really the only one that you’ve ever comforted on a regular basis?” Tony’s head tilted just enough so that he could look at her, and Jo smiled at his upside-down face. 

“Just you, boss.”

“Well, I think that your comforting skills are above average. And, if we’re being honest, my opinion is the only one that matters.” That got a full body laugh out of her, and Tony’s body rocked against hers. He’s a strange one, but she wouldn’t have him any other way. 

“Thanks, boss. Darcy settle in okay?” Tony’s fingers tapped against her upraised knees as she reached up to massage his shoulders, even though they were both feeling more relaxed. 

“Yeah, she’s all set up.”

“Do you think we moved too fast with her?” 

“Nah, I have a feeling that Miss Lewis is good with rollin’ with the punches. Ooh, little lower.”

“Or you could just lack patience. Oh, wow, you gotta get a masseuse. You’re carrying way too much tension.”

“Looks like I’ve already got one, sweetheart.” Jo rolled her eyes at the sly wink but kept her hands moving. They both settled into the quiet of the room, until they drifted off together.

**.xXx.**

The sound of something breaking had Jo wide awake, but something heavy draped across all of her kept her from sitting upright like she normally would. A groan came from somewhere in the vicinity of her breasts and hands opened and closed against her ribcage. Oh yeah, she fell asleep in the lab. Tony must have turned over in his sleep so that they’re sleeping stomach to stomach, but what crashed? Jo looked around the room, and the shocked look on Darcy’s face had Jo laughing in seconds. Tony groaned at the continuous movement and pushed harder against her, but Darcy’s entire face was tomato red.

“Cut it out! ‘M sleepin’!”

“Oh, wow, I am so sorry. I didn’t know that you two were, that you’re…how is that even comfortable?” Jo glanced down the length of the couch and realized that Darcy was right. Her and Tony are twisted up like a pretzel. 

“Why does everything think we’re…you know, doing the do?” Jo asked her cuddle buddy. 

“Because you’re never wearing pants?” Tony lifted his head off her chest just so he could look out into the lab, where Darcy was still standing with a confused look on her face. Maybe she’d stop looking so confused if Tony stopped laying on her, but it looks like neither one of them are in a rush to move. 

“Because pants are evil. And constrictive.”

“Wait, so you two aren’t sleeping together?” Jo looked down at Tony, who looked at her and then over at Darcy. 

“Yes.” 

“Oh.”

“But we’re not having sex.”

“Huh.”

“Well, now that we have that all figured out, I need to pee. And then shower. Maybe put on pants.”

“Ooh! Will you wash my back for me?” Tony asked as he sat up on his knees. Jo looked down her body and wrinkled her nose at the twisted up tee shirt and boxer panties. No wonder Darcy thought they were having sex. Tony’s just wearing a pair of his old jeans. 

“You guys are just messing with me, right?” Darcy was picking up pieces of the fallen coffee cup, and Dum-E was helping by wiping up the mess. 

“Jo can really work some magic with a sponge. You should ask her for a scrub sometime.”

“C’mon, boss, let’s get out of here before you scar the poor girl for life.” Jo easily rolled to her feet and then pulled Tony off the couch, and he shook himself awake once he was standing. 

“Darcy, I’ll be back in twenty!” Jo and Darcy both watched him saunter from the room, and Jo rolled her eyes. 

“So, why aren’t you tapping that?” Darcy was smiling when Jo looked over, so she just shrugged and let out a smile of her own. 

“Because he’s my platonic life partner. I’ll drop in later.” She stepped out of the lab, had a thought, and then popped her head back in. “And, Darcy, don’t let him drive you crazy and don’t be scared to call him out on his shit.”

“Don’t worry. I got this.”

When Jo made it to her room, there was already someone there waiting for her. Two someones. Clint was sitting on top of her unmade bed, and Natasha was standing in front of the fireplace and looking at her pictures. They’re both dressed in all black, so they’re going out on a mission. Clint even has his mission-face on, which means that his face is blank but his eyes are alive. Clint was made for action, and it’s something that she understands. It’s just one more reason why they understand each other. Natasha didn’t turn around as Jo walked farther into the room, but she knows that the other woman knows that she’s in the room. Natasha’s senses of observation are nearly supernatural. 

“Headin’ out?” Her voice is still a little sleep rough, which means that her naturally rough voice makes her sound like a frog with a cold. 

“Should only be gone for a week or two,” Clint said with a small smile. A week or two? Means there’ll be some recon but not much. It’s the quick missions that are the most dangerous. 

“Marshal?” Clint looked over his shoulder, but Natasha’s still studying the fireplace. 

“The spy was handled. You’re good.” Jo nodded and shifted her weight onto her left foot. She doesn’t really miss going on missions, but she hates being in the dark too. She’d probably even ask Fury if she could go after Marshal, get rid of that headache for good, if it wasn’t for Tony. She can’t leave her boss. Clint got to his feet, and Jo watched him as he stood to his full height. 

“Alright. Be careful out there.”

“Always am, Josie. Meet you downstairs, Tasha.” Clint squeezed her hand on his way out, and Jo waited until he was completely gone before walking over to stand next to Natasha. 

“You really do care about him, don’t you?” Right. Her only two pictures are of her and Tony, so it’s a little obvious that she cares about the jackass. 

“Yeah, I do.”

“Like I care about Clint.” It’s not a question, and Natasha isn’t wrong. More than friends and less than lovers. 

“Why are you here, Natasha?” The other woman actively avoids Jo most of the time, so why is she in her room and looking at her only two pictures?

“I shouldn’t have shot you yesterday. I was out of line.”

“Did Clint tell you to say that?” Natasha finally looked at her, green met green, and Jo had her answer. “Thought so. Don’t worry about it, Nat. I like to think of the shootings as bonding moments.”

“I know you’re not an agent anymore, you never really were, but you can’t be that careless. There are still people looking for you.” Natasha’s still looking at her, and…

“Oh my god! Clint was right! You were worried about me!” Natasha quirked a brow, but she can’t fool Jo now. The Natasha Romanoff was actually worried about her wellbeing. It’s a Christmas miracle!

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Holbrook. I live with Tony Stark, and you have to be alive to keep him alive. It’s simple.”

“Say whatever you want, Nat, but I think you’re starting to like me,” Jo said with a big smile. This is better than discovering Narnia; after a decade, Natasha is finally starting to like her a little. 

“I will shoot you.” With that said, Natasha turned on her heel and sauntered out of the room. Huh. Her and Tony have almost the exact same walk. 

“Have a safe mission!” Natasha fired a shot over her head, and Jo didn’t even blink as the bullet grazed her cheek and embedded itself in the wall behind her. The slight bleeding was gone before the elevator doors closed.

**.xXx.**

“Here’s my schedule for the next six months,” Tony said and passed a tablet over. Darcy looked down at it as Tony went back to hammering away at a hunk of metal, and she felt her eyes bug out just a little at the endless list of things he needed to attend.

“You have a lunch meeting with Mr. Burger tomorrow at noon,” she said. 

“Berger? Nope, cancel it. He eats with his mouth open and talks too much.” Okay then. Darcy tried to delete it, she really did, but it just wouldn’t budge. After a few moments of her quietly cussing the very expensive tablet, Tony turned and took it out of her hands. He took one look at the pulled-up date, groaned, and handed it back to her.

“If there’s a pepper in the corner, it’s non-negotiable. When Jo gets back from wherever she decided to go, inform her that we have a meeting tomorrow.” A pepper? Sure enough, in the top right-hand corner of tomorrow’s little date box, was a red pepper. That’s not normal, but she can roll with it. 

“Do I have to go?” Tony’s head tilted to the side as he looked up at her, and he actually started stroking his goatee. Darcy thought that was just something bad guys did in overly cliché movies. 

“As my assistant, yes. If I start drooling from boredom, make up something so we can make a run for it.”

“You’re not a very good boss, are you?” 

“Why do you think I hired someone else to run my company?” Tony’s got a look on his face that she can’t identify, but it’s not her place to ask. 

“To give you more time to play with your toys?” That got her a really wide smile that kind of scared her. (It was still really hot though and how does that even work?) 

“I need that arm.” She has a feeling that this is going to be her weirdest job ever, and that’s saying something. 

For the next several hours, Tony did things she barely understood and yelled at her to bring him stuff. She’s gonna go out on a limb and say that he’s building another suit, or a really big robot. (Speaking of robots, Dum-E is absolutely adorable. Especially in his little sock sweater. It’s her first official day as Tony Stark’s personal assistant and she’s already going crazy.) Since she’s not really doing anything, she’s had plenty of time to think. Maybe a little too much, because she’s doing some really deep thinking. 

Forty-eight hours ago, she was living in a building that needs to be condemned and was working at a Starbucks. She had no money, no friends, and no future. Now she’s got five thousand sitting pretty in her bank account, she’s living with four other people who are both amazing and kinda weird, and she’s _Tony Stark’s personal assistant_. Everything did a complete one-eighty so fast that she’s got a lifestyle change hangover, which is totally a thing, and she’s not really sure how to feel about it. She should be freakin’ ecstatic, and a part of her is. The other part of her is waiting for the other shoe to drop. She worked with Jane for five years, and she thought that they were really close. Then Jane up and decided that she didn’t need Darcy anymore. Tony doesn’t even know her, but now she’s living with him. 

Tony is okay. He plays his music at ear-shattering levels, barks commands like she’s a piece of machinery, and he talks to himself a lot. He’s nothing like what she expected. His bodyguard, Jo, is nothing like she’s ever seen either. The woman looks so nice and unthreatening, but Darcy watched her get shot in the head and shake it off like it was nothing. (The redhead who shot her was magazine pretty and had eyes that could kill, but Darcy isn’t scared of her. Nope. Not one little bit.) Jo is nice, and funny, and goes out of her way to help Darcy. She only talked to Clint for a little bit last night, but he was easy to talk to and kept her laughing when she was internally freaking out about the blood splatter on the dining room floor. She really likes this place, but what if she gets attached and then they kick her out?

“There’s an incoming ca—”

“Busy, JARVIS!”

“It’s for Miss Lewis, sir.” Tony waved his hand in the air, and Darcy sat up a little straighter on the couch. Someone’s calling for her? No one calls her. 

“Uh, sure, I’ll take it.”

“Hey, Darcy! How’s the first day going? How many different ways of killing Tony have you come up with yet?” Oh, it’s Jo. She’s calling to see how Darcy’s day is going?

“I’m in the room, sweetheart.” Okay, their whole relationship is just weird. 

“Just zone out like you always do. I’m talking to Darcy.”

“I’m going to go get a drink. Do you need anything?” Darcy asked. The engineer shook his head and waved his hand, which Darcy is going to take as a dismissal. She didn’t say a word until the elevator doors were closed, and she could hear Jo laughing quietly over the line. 

“I’ve only come up with a few ways so far. I’m slacking, aren’t I? I’m a slacker,” Darcy confessed. 

“Nah, it just means you have more patience than I do. So the first day is going okay? He’s not making you do anything crazy?” The other woman actually sounds concerned, and Darcy shuffled a little. Jo doesn’t even know her, so why is she being all protective?

“All I’ve done so far is just carry stuff around the lab. Oh! There’s a lunch meeting tomorrow that we both have to go to,” Darcy said and turned into the kitchen. 

“What? I hate going to meetings; they’re so boring.” It took Darcy a minute to realize that the voice was coming from the room she was in and not over a speaker; Jo was sitting at the bar in front of a giant cup. She smiled when she caught Darcy’s eyes and waved. “Hi.”

“How long have you been here?” 

“About five minutes. I just had to run out and pick up a few things,” Jo said and glanced at the floor. There were several large bags around her stool, and a few strands of hair had come out of her giant ball. How long is Jo’s hair anyway?

“A few?” Darcy made her way over to the humongous fridge and grabbed a bottle of water out. 

“Yeah, I ran out of fabric. Oh! I got you something!” When Darcy turned around, she couldn’t see Jo but she could hear the plastic bags rustling. Jo popped up from behind the bar a moment later, and she tossed over a white tube. Darcy caught it and held it up, and she let her lips move over the single word printed across the white background. 

“Arnica?”

“For the bruising,” Jo said with a shrug. This nearly complete stranger bought her something to help with her black eye? Then again, Jo also kicked the crap out of her mugger so maybe she shouldn’t be so surprised. 

“Uh, thanks.”

“Don’t worry about it. JARVIS said he informed y’all about the agents leaving?” Y’all? Yeah, Jo is definitely not from New York. She must be from one of the southern states. 

“Yeah. I think Tony’s feelings got hurt because they didn’t say goodbye.”

“Did he pout?” Darcy laughed, just a little, and nodded. It was a little weird seeing the super suave Tony Stark pout, but it must be a normal thing because Jo just nodded and smiled a little. “Well, I’m gonna make him a sandwich before he starves. You’re welcome to stay with me if you don’t wanna go back up to the lab yet.”

“He doesn’t know how to make a sandwich?” Darcy asked as Jo walked over to the fridge. Tony’s a genius, so he has to know how to make a sandwich. Right?

“You know, I’m not really sure. He always forgets to eat when he’s working though, so I normally make him something and bring it up. It’s usually the same for breakfast and dinner too.” Darcy laughed a little louder than she meant to, and Jo looked over at her. It took Darcy a minute to get herself together, and she smiled at the other woman. 

“It’s just…you really are his maid, huh?” Jo’s mouth dropped open just a little, then her nose scrunched up and she doubled over in laughter of her own. Darcy joined in, and they had to hold onto each other to keep from falling over. Just as suddenly as the laughter started, Jo stopped and looked Darcy dead in the eye. 

“Tell him that and I’ll kill you.”

“And then clean up the mess? Alfreda?” Jo held the serious look for one blink and then started cackling, and the whole thing started up again. Yeah, this place is weird…but she might be able to get used to it.

**July 22, 2014**

“Tony! You should’ve been awake an hour ago! You have a—Why does this keep happening to me?!” Jo swatted the pillow off her face at the sound of Darcy’s yelling, and Tony’s goatee scratched against her lower stomach. For some reason, Tony thinks that her chest and stomach are just one great big pillow for him to sleep on. She’d complain more, but his silk sheets are amazing.

“Too early. Go ‘way,” Tony mumbled and pressed harder against her stomach. His legs are wrapped around one of hers, and Darcy is staring at them like they’ve both lost it. 

“Is this what it’s like to walk in on your parents having sex?” Darcy whispered. That got Tony’s eyes open, and he looked over at his assistant. 

“Don’t be like that, Darce. We’re not _that_ old.” 

“We’re also not having sex,” Jo pointed out. 

“You promise that Tony’s not naked under there?” Tony does have a silk sheet pulled up to his hips, but Jo isn’t one hundred percent sure that he’s not naked. After the ABI, seeing Tony naked isn’t all that big of a deal. She washes his back pretty much every other day anyway. 

“Did you remember to put on briefs after your bath?” They both lifted the edge of the blanket and peeked under, and Darcy rocked back on her heels. 

“Forgetting to take off the towel has to count for something.”

“It is like parents having sex! Tony, you’ve got that interview with what’s-her-face in thirty minutes, so put some clothes on!” Darcy closed the door on the way out, and Tony and Jo immediately started laughing. Tony flipped the sheet back and got up on his knees, and Jo shook her head at the sight of his shiny red boxers. 

“We’ve gotta stop messing with her like that,” Jo said once they’d both calmed down. Tony eased off the bed first, and Jo wiggled to the edge so that her feet could touch the floor. 

“But it’s funny,” Tony whined. Jo narrowed her eyes, which made Tony huff and cross his arms. “She knows we’re not actually sleeping together. You said it yourself, she thinks of as older siblings.”

“Don’t mention that to her though; she’s trying to deny it.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s only been here for a little over two weeks and that’s a very strong bond to feel with people you barely know?” Tony nodded thoughtfully, and Jo let his swell of thoughts drift around her. Yes, it’s only been two weeks and some days, but they’re both very attached to Darcy already. The three of them spend every waking hour together, so it was bound to happen.

“Okay. Makes sense. I’m going to freshen up. Pick me out a suit?” Tony disappeared into the bathroom, and Jo rolled her shoulders as she stood up. She listened to her body pop, let out a relieved sigh, and made her way over to the closet. 

Darcy is only twenty-three, but she’s already accomplished so much. She grew up in a series of foster homes, and a high school counselor helped her apply for dual enrollment when she was only sixteen. By the time Darcy graduated at eighteen, she was already a college-level junior. Then a scholarship got her an internship with Dr. Foster, where she finished out her degree. She then spent the next five years helping out an astrophysicist, and she is now working for Tony Stark. She’s smart, she’s funny, and she has a good heart. Tony and Jo both think of her as a little sister, which works out great because Darcy thinks of them as the older siblings she always wanted. (Jo feels some pride in knowing that Darcy already likes her more than she likes Jane.)

“Jo!”

“What?!”

“What kind of cologne should I wear?!”

**.xXx.**

“Tony! What’s-her-face is waiting in the downstairs den! Are you—Seriously?! Again?!” Jo looked over her shoulder, and Darcy couldn’t tell if her dark green eyes were shining with amusement or embarrassment.

“Uh, it’s not what it looks like?” Jo asked. 

“Really? Because right now it looks like you’re straddling Tony Stark. On Tony Stark’s bed. Can’t you guys save it for later?” Every time she turns around, Jo and Tony are doing something couple-like. They’re definitely not a couple though, which is weird. They sleep in the same bed, they cuddle, they argue like a married couple, but they’re not together. 

“The last time Dum-E tried to shave Tony’s overly complicated facial hair, he nearly took off an eyebrow. So now I have to do it, but Tony is a child who doesn’t know how to sit still!” The last little part was directed at Tony, and Darcy suddenly realized that Jo was holding an old timey razor. 

“You’re holding a razor to my face!” 

“I’m your bodyguard! I’m pretty much the only person guaranteed to not kill you!” 

“She said while holding a razor to his face!” Darcy whistled, as shrilly as possible, and they both turned to look at her. Tony had to lean to the side to do it, and they both had big eyes. 

“Okay. You two can duke it out later or whatever, but we’ve got to get downstairs. Now.” Jo nodded and slipped off Tony’s lap, and Darcy watched as Jo picked up a small towel and patted Tony’s face. Despite their yelling, Darcy could tell that Jo was being gentle and Tony was lightly holding onto her hips as she wiped off the remaining shaving cream. It’s things like that. Darcy doesn’t know what category to put them in, because they don’t fit in any category. 

“There. Now you’re somewhat presentable,” Jo said and stepped away. Tony stood up and moved to stand next to Jo, and Darcy ran her eyes over both of them. Tony’s wearing black slacks that fit him just right and a dark red button-up, but he’s not wearing a jacket. Jo is wearing the same outfit as yesterday—midnight blue leggings and a green shirt dress. 

“Everyone looks fabulous. Can we go please?” They smiled at her in unison, which was a little unsettling, and finally started moving. Darcy led the way to the elevator, and they rode down in near silence. Jo was humming. Tony took the lead once they reached the foyer, and Darcy and Jo followed behind him to the big den. The reporter for whatever magazine was standing in front of the fireplace, and Darcy was amazed at how Tony changed. 

Okay, so, it’s only been a little over two weeks since she moved in and started working. It’s not two weeks at a nine-to-five though. She eats all three meals with Tony and Jo, and they’re together for all the hours between. She’s pretty sure that she’s got a handle on their basic mannerisms. Unless he’s working on something, Tony is usually loose-limbed and completely at ease. He sprawls and slouches, he shouts and can be extremely childish, and his smiles are so wide that his eyes crinkle. That’s not the Tony she’s seeing. The man talking to the reporter is Mr. Stark, all smooth words and tight smirks. This is who she always imagined him to be, and she’s so glad that she was wrong. Working for him would be awful. 

“Let’s sit over here,” Jo said and tugged her over to a loveseat in the corner. The den is big enough that if they’re on opposite sides of the room, they can’t hear each other unless someone is shouting. They both watched as Tony directed her to two chairs strategically placed in front of each other for the interview, and Darcy rolled her eyes at the reporter’s enthusiasm. 

“Is this really happening?” Darcy whispered. Jo met her eyes, and Darcy’s annoyed look was reflected in her eyes. 

“I don’t like her.”

“Me neither.”

The longer they watched, the more angry Darcy became. Just who does this woman think she is? Darcy can see right through her; she’s totally hitting on Tony. She’s not being subtle about it at all, but it doesn’t look like Tony has noticed. Or maybe he has and just doesn’t have any interest. Darcy hopes that the case, because she really doesn’t like this woman. If Darcy and Jo weren’t there, she’d probably strip right there and jump on him. It’s disgusting. Isn’t she supposed to be a professional?

“You okay, Darcy?” Jo whispered. 

“My arm is itchy,” Darcy whispered back. It’s not a lie; she hates having to wear a cast. “My arm wasn’t even broken all that bad! Why am I wearing a cast?”

“Really? It should’ve been shattered.” At Darcy’s confused look, Jo continued, “Telepath, remember? I saw what happened in the mugger’s mind.”

“Still can’t believe you mugged my mugger.” This time it was Jo’s turn to give Darcy a look. “The doctor said it was a clean break and not a very bad one, but he still insisted on the cast. Which is very itchy.”

“Well, after Miss Playing-With-My-Necklace-So-You’ll-Look-At-My-Cleavage leaves, we’ll go find you a wire hanger.” Darcy had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing at that one.

“Right? Who does an interview with the top three buttons undone?”

“Totally unprofessional,” Jo agreed. 

“And a mini skirt? Really? What is this, the nineties?” Jo raised her fist, and Darcy tapped it with her own. 

Jo is…not what Darcy expected either. With all those curves and pouty lips, Darcy just naturally assumed she was a sweet and cuddly person. Which she is. Jo cooks for them and buys bruise cream, and her and Tony touch more than they don’t. Over the past two weeks though, Darcy has heard enough stories about Jo to believe that she’s completely badass. Her nickname around SHIELD is The Tank, and some of those dudes are pretty hardcore. Jo’s also talked about her family some. No dad, mom died when she was sixteen, an adoptive father type who’s more than a little rough around the edges, and an adopted little sister who can take care of herself. 

“Are you sure that’s all, Mr. Stark?” Darcy snapped out of her thoughts at the woman’s sickly sweet voice, and she realized that Tony and what’s-her-face were standing. 

“I’m sure. If you need anything else, call my assistant.” Darcy waved the arm in a cast, and the woman’s eyes narrowed. Ha! You’ve been dismissed! 

“Right this way, Miss Rogan. I’ll show you to the door,” Jo said and fluidly moved to her feet. Her bare feet. The woman took one last look at Tony and then let Jo escort her from the room. As soon as the room was cleared, Tony’s shoulder’s slumped and he started unbuttoning his shirt. 

“Feeling okay, Tony?” He glanced over at her as the last button was pushed through its hole, and he held eye contact as the shirt fell from his shoulders. Jo wolf whistled as she walked back into the room, and Tony threw the shirt at her head. Jo caught it, shrugged, and then slipped it on. Darcy’s just glad that Tony was wearing a tee shirt under the button-up; she’s seen enough of his bare skin over the past few weeks to last a lifetime. 

“It doesn’t take a telepath to know what she was thinking,” Tony said and started toeing off his shoes. 

“I’m a little disappointed actually. It was so vanilla,” Jo said and smoothed down Tony’s button-up. It hung down a little, so she started rolling the sleeves up. 

“Really?” Darcy asked. 

“Yeah. Just a bed and missionary. If you’re gonna fantasize about Tony Stark, you should at least be a little creative with it.”

“You’re a good friend, sweetheart,” Tony said and patted Jo’s cheek as he walked by. 

“Yeah, yeah. Get your ass upstairs and get to work. You’re behind schedule.”

“It’s a pretty ass though, right?” Darcy was standing next to Jo now, and they both watched as Tony put a little extra sway into his walk. 

“Prettiest ass on the east coast, sir!” Jo called right before he stepped onto the elevator. He turned to blow them both a kiss, and Jo turned to Darcy after the doors were closed. “Hanger search, right?”

“I’m pretty sure I have some in my room.” Her closet was ridiculously large, so there’s gotta be some spare hangers in there. 

“Alrighty then. I’m thinking omelets for breakfast. Any objections?”

“Omelets sound wonderful.” Jo’s smile revealed the dimple in her left cheek and made her eyes shine, and Darcy looped their arms before walking off. It’s only been two weeks, and she’s already in over her head with these two. And for some reason, she’s pretty sure they won’t let her drown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a fun chapter to write, and there was a little bit more about Jo's past. I obviously changed some backstory; I gave Logan all of his memories back, Rogue's powers manifested before puberty (like in the movies), and Rogue wasn't found by Mystique (like in the comics). I think Jo's backstory is important, because it shows just how different her relationship with Tony is than with anyone else in her life. 
> 
> Speaking of backstories, I made one up for Darcy! I like the idea of her being chill and funny, but then being a genius under all the quips. I'm also falling in love with the Tony-Jo-Darcy dynamic, because they all want a family so bad. 
> 
> In the next chapter, we're finally going to see the characters that we've all been waiting for! Are you as excited as I am?


	8. Take Care Of Her

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _there's a rumble in the floor_   
>  _so get prepared for war_   
>  _when it hits it'll knock you to the ground_   
>  _when it shakes up everything around_   
>  **Courtesy Call by Thousand Foot Krutch**   
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small Warning: some mild violence but nothing horribly graphic

**July 24, 2014**

“Not another harlequin.” Jo’s head snapped up at the sound of the loud voice in the very quiet library, and her smile was instantaneous.

“Clint! I missed you!” Jo wrapped herself around the archer like a starfish, and Clint chuckled as he caught his footing and the mutant. “Did everything go okay? You two had one more day and then I was calling Fury to see if you needed backup.”

“Yeah, I got in last night. Early this morning. Natasha had a little side thing to do, but she should be here soon. It took a little longer than we expected, but everything has been handled. Fury wants to meet with everyone though, soon.”

“All of us? What’s going on?” Clint gripped her thighs and hoisted her up a little more securely, and Jo draped her arms over his shoulders. 

“Don’t know. We’re in the dark on this one too. Where is everyone?”

“Thor, Cap, and Bruce are still no-shows. Tony and Darcy are up in the lab, and I felt like reading.” The library is so big and the chairs are so comfy, and it’s nice to just relax with a good book sometimes. 

“Well, I know something that’s better than reading,” Clint grinned. He’s still in his uniform. He must have passed out while he was still dressed and then came looking for her as soon as he woke up. On the surface, it seems like a sweet gesture. Jo’s not an idiot though, and she doesn’t have to use telepathy to figure Clint out. What happened on their mission?

“Oh yeah? What’s that?”

“JARVIS? Seventy-six, please.”

“Excellent selection, sir.” Jo squealed as Clint jumped up onto the long table, while still holding her, but she was laughing as he set her on her feet. She straightened her back and tried to hold her smile in, but she was failing. Clint bowed at the waist, like the gentleman he wasn’t but knew how to act like, and raised a hand to ask for a dance. Jo smiled at the familiar tune and placed her hand in his just as the lyrics started.

**.xXx.**

_“Aaaat laaaast, my loooove has come along. My lonely days are over…and life is like a song! Oh, yeah, yeah.”_ So, that’s where she was. Tony peeked his head into the library, looking for his bodyguard, and found her with her favorite dancing partner. He had a feeling that he should be upset about the two of them dancing on the old, and expensive, table but he wasn’t. Not when they were dancing so sweetly again. Seeing the two dancing like idiots was common, but this was the first time he’d seen them slow dancing since the Elvis song over two months ago.

 _“At last, the skies above are blue.”_ Jo was fully dressed for once, in a pair of ripped denim shorts and a light gray tee shirt. Tony was pretty sure that her hair was up earlier, but the brown mass was hanging freely down to her hips now. Clint was still dressed in the tight black pants and sleeveless black shirt he wore on missions, but the two were both barefoot as they twirled around the table. 

_“My heart was wrapped up in clover, the night I looked at you.”_ Clint swiped a hand down the side of Jo’s face, and Jo spun away from him as if in embarrassment with her hands pressed against her stomach. Clint’s front molded to her back as he reached around to grab her hands, and Tony could hear Jo singing quietly with her rough voice as she danced away from Clint again. Clint followed her easily, and they danced around each other, face-to-face, without touching. 

_“I found a dream, that I could speak to, a dream that I, can call my own.”_ Jo’s singing voice was rough, but it fit the song. She finished the line with her back to Clint once again, and she swayed lightly from side to side as the archer pressed against her once more. 

_“I found a thrill, to press my cheek to, a thrill that I, have never known.”_ Clint sung the beginning of his line with his cheek pressed to Jo’s, and Jo let him spin her around again. Clint tossed her into the air with the next verse and easily caught her with his hands locked around her waist, and Jo sang the following _“Oh, yeah, yeah”_ as she was lowered back to the ground.

_“You smile, you smile.”_

“Oh and then the spell was cast.” They were dancing sweetly again, gracefully, like real lovers. They never broke eye contact as they sang to each other, first Clint and then Jo. It looked so real, with the gentle smiles and familiar touches, and Tony had never wanted to be a telepath more, just so he could know what they were thinking about. 

_“And here we are.”_

(Clint was thinking of Lily, the little girl in the circus who was brave and snuck into his cot at night because she was scared of the shadows. He thought of her big blue eyes blinking up at him as she balanced her little feet on top of his, and he remembered the sound of her laugh as he dipped her far enough for her pretty blonde curls to brush the dirt covered ground. Thinking about Lily didn’t hurt when he was dancing. He didn’t see her thin and dying with coughs shaking her too small body. He saw her laughing as they danced.) 

_“In heaven.”_

(Jo was thinking of Camille Holbrook, her Ma. She thought of lazy Sunday mornings in the kitchen, when she was still really small. She thought of how her mother would grab her hand and spin her around the kitchen just as the sun was lighting up the room. She could see herself dancing through light beams like another little piece of dust being revealed, and she could hear her mother singing quietly as they danced from tile to tile in the kitchen. It was their special time; moments for just the two of them.) 

_“For you are mine.”_

(They both remember those tense first meetings, first in the hospital where Jo was held captive and the grueling debriefing that took a few weeks. Clint remembers a skinny and pale Jo, with dark circles under her eyes and the way she continuously rubbed a hand over her shaved head. Jo remembers the still young and angry agent, with eyes that burned with protective rage for his friend and a raw guilt for hurting someone he was meant to save. They both remember the night the debriefing was over and they wound up at the same seedy bar despite taking off from base separately. They remember matching drink for drink, they remember first impressions melting away under a new bond, and they remember their first dance. The smell of cheap beer and sawdust, the yellow light all around them, Jo’s bony hips and Clint’s wiry arms, and Nancy Sinatra singing, _“Bang, bang…my baby shot me down.”_ )

 _“At last.”_ They ended the song completely pressed together, with Jo’s arms locked around Clint’s shoulders and Clint’s arms wrapped tightly around Jo’s hips. Their eyes were connected, and they were smiling like they were sharing a secret. Tony fought the urge to clap, because he didn’t want to ruin the moment. 

“Hiya, boss,” Jo said with a throaty whisper. Her and Clint were both smiling at him now, and they both looked so relaxed. Maybe he should give dancing a try. 

“Sorry to intrude,” he said with a big grin of his own. Clint propped his cheek on top of Jo’s head, and Jo snuggled under the archer’s chin. 

“Whatcha need?” Jo was nearly slurring her words, and Clint’s smile was bordering on dopey. Tony was almost jealous of the peace they seemed to find with each other, but he remembered Jo’s fingers tightening around his when she told him that he’s the only one she cuddles. He also knows that Clint’s still closer to Natasha than anyone else, so Tony doesn’t have to worry about someone stealing his bodyguard away. 

“Darcy is in the kitchen making lunch and—” He was cut off as the mansion shook, and Clint and Jo sprung apart. 

“JARVIS! What the hell’s happening?!”

“HYDRA is attacking the mansion, sir. I believe they are looking for Agent Romanoff.” The two dancers swore under their breath in unison, and Tony took a second to just blink up at them. Is it the dancing that makes them that in sync?

“I’ll handle it,” Jo mumbled and jumped off the table. 

“I’m comin’,” Clint said and followed her down. 

“Same here,” Tony said as they reached him. 

“You’re both crazy. You’re still wrung out from the last mission and don’t know what they’re packing, Clint. As for you, boss, the suit isn’t up and runnin’ yet. Stay here and let me take care of this, both of you,” Jo said without breaking her stride. “JARVIS? Can you please tell Darcy what’s going on and then direct her to the Assembly Room?”

“Of course, Miss Jo.” The rest of the house is already on lockdown so no one can get inside, and the Assembly Room is the safest place to be. Clint mumbled something under his breath and split away from them once they reached the foyer, and Tony followed Jo as she power walked to the elevator.

“You can’t take on HYDRA by yourself!” Tony yelled once they were inside. He realizes that his suit isn’t fully operation, yet, but Jo can’t fight on her own. Isn’t that the point of everything? To not fight alone anymore?

“I’m not takin’ on HYDRA. I’m gettin’ rid of a few agents sent to either take down Natasha or bring her in,” Jo said once they were on their own floor. She went straight to her room, and Tony paused in the doorway to watch her pull on a pair of heavy looking boots. 

“You could get hurt.”

“I’m going to get hurt. I’m going to bleed and might even break something, but I’ll heal. You won’t.” Jo had the boots tied now and was balling her hair up. 

“I don’t want you out there alone.”

“Tough titty said the kitty,” Jo mumbled as she finished with her hair. 

“We don’t have time for flippant remarks!”

“Because those are your specialty?” Tony just glared as Jo stopped in front of him, and Jo sighed as she reached up to press her palms against stubbled cheeks. “You’re not ready to fight, and I was fighting long before Fury sent me to you. As your bodyguard, I’m asking you to stay in a secured area. As your friend, I’m asking you to let me keep you safe.”

“Jo—” The house shook again, and Jo’s lips thinned as she glanced up at the ceiling. 

“I’ll be fine, boss.” Jo moved around him, and the elevator doors were already closing when he got back to the den. He caught a flash of dark green eyes before the doors closed completely, and he waited with a tapping foot for the elevator to open again. He needs to get to the lab.

**.xXx.**

The house shook around her again as the giant door to the Assembly Room opened, and Darcy quickly walked inside. There were couches along one wall, and there was a lot of machinery. It looked like a giant panic room, and that’s probably what it is. After the first quake, JARVIS directed her straight here. Now she’s here, and she has no idea what’s going on. Where’s Jo? And Tony?

“What’s happening, JARVIS?”

“The house is currently under attack. Miss Jo is handling the situation.”

“By herself?!” Tony’s suit isn’t finished yet, so of course Jo is fighting by herself. Is Jo strong enough to take on whoever is attacking them?

“I assure you, Miss Darcy, she is quite capable.” Darcy fell back onto a couch and let her eyes close. She hasn’t tried praying in a very long time, but maybe she can make an exception for her new friend.

_“Dear God…no, wait…Dear Thor, my friend, Jo, told me that she prays to you whenever she needs a little extra strength. I’m living with her and Tony now, Tony Stark, and they’re both pretty cool. The house is under attack, and Jo is fighting off the bad guys on her own. I’m praying to you because…I want her to be okay. I guess, uh, keep her safe? Amen.”_

**.xXx.**

“I! Hate! All! Of! You! Assholes!” Jo yelled as another barrage hit her. There’s a helicopter above her, and a few agents dropped down onto the roof once they realized their little bombs couldn’t put a dent in the Avengers Mansion. The bombs shook it up a little, but the place is still whole. Jo has never appreciated Tony’s brilliant and paranoid mind more.

“Hand over Black Widow, Eris!” one of the agents called out. Jo kicked him off the roof with high hopes that he’d land on his head. Lady Luck owes her that much at least. 

“Still want her?” Jo asked as she turned to face the three remaining agents. They took off running back to the helicopter, and Jo cheered as she watched them go. “Yeah! You better run!”

“Could you be anymore cliché?” Jo tilted her head back to see pale green eyes and long black hair, and she propped her fists on her hips. 

“Look who’s talking, _Madame Hydra_.” The other woman, who’s actual codename is Viper, let a slow smile curve her lips. Jo watched with confused eyes as the jet she was in slowly lifted higher into the air, and she realized there was a bomb aimed right at her around the time that it fired. She knew the mansion would be okay, she knew that she would survive the hit, and she knew that it was going to hurt like a bitch. The bomb landed and went off a few feet in front of her, and her eyes squeezed closed as she waited for the blast to rip through her. There was heat hotter than the surface of the sun, but she didn’t explode. All of her limbs are accounted for. She slowly peeked her eyes open and saw a wall of green. 

“Okay?” The voice was more of a growl, with a lot of anger, but it wasn’t menacing. No, not menacing at all. The giant green wall of muscle was protecting her from the worst of the blast and seeing him up close was absolutely breathtaking. Jo glanced up to take in the green features, and she was surprised to see the concerned look in the big guy’s green gaze. 

“My hero!” Jo gathered the last of her strength into her legs to help her push off the ground, and she locked her arms around his thick neck. His back was still burning hot, but she didn’t care. She heard his grunt and then squealed when he lifted her higher into the air. She was deposited on one broad shoulder, and her hand reached over to brush some dust out of his curly dark hair. 

“Jo! Are you—Whoa!” Tony slid to a stop as he looked around, and Jo grinned down at him from her new seat. 

“Is she okay?!” Clint exploded around a corner, and Jo took note of his bow. Did he have that when they were dancing? She raised a brow in question, and Clint looked from her to the weapon in his hands. “There were a few on the ground. Next time, try aiming before you push someone off the roof.”

“Kicked,” Jo pointed out. It’s an important distinction. Ooh, in her woozy state, that’s an impressively large word to think. 

“Hulk, buddy, when did you get here?” Tony asked. Jo had to resist the urge to look into her current savior’s mind. Her morals and the blood loss helped her make the decision. 

“Banner coming to stay. Heard guns.” The big green guy shrugged, and Jo slowly moved up and down with the gesture. 

“Glad you did too. That one was gonna hurt somethin’ awful.”

“Humph, you too puny.” Jo smiled at that and pulled in a painful breath. 

“Hey, we’re all puny next to you,” Jo said and dropped her head on top of his. Her numerous injuries are letting themselves be known now that the adrenaline’s wearing off, and everything’s starting to throb.

“Did you know the Hulk could talk?” Clint whispered. 

“No idea,” Tony whispered back. Jo slumped completely against the side of Hulk’s head, and she saw the blurry shapes of Tony and Clint stepping forward. Then everything went black.

**.xXx.**

Inside Hulk’s mind, Bruce could see and hear everything. It was a little disconcerting in the beginning, being in the back of his own mind, but he was getting used to the sensation. Right now, he could feel the way the woman was resting slackly against him and could see the two men stepping towards them. Bruce knew them, could identify them, and so could Hulk.

 _“You need to put her down. She’s been hurt and needs to be taken care of,”_ Bruce said gently. He has an understanding with Hulk now, so he knows that the other guy will listen to him. 

**_“Take care of her?”_ **

_“Yeah, I’ll take care of her.”_ Bruce could feel the big fist wrapping so gently around the woman, but he didn’t place her on the ground. Instead, he carefully held the body to his massive chest as he started to retreat. Before, Bruce wasn’t conscious for his return so he was getting used to this part as well. A few heartbeats later, Bruce was standing on Tony Stark’s roof completely naked with Tony’s bodyguard unconscious in his arms. 

“Hey, Bruce! Long time no see,” Tony said with a too wide grin. His eyes kept darting down to the woman, and Bruce wasn’t really sure what to do. What’s the protocol for this sort of thing?

“Yeah, Doc, it’s really nice to finally see you. All of you. Wow, you are really naked.” Bruce glanced down to see hazy green eyes staring at him, and a small smile touched her lips. 

“How are you still conscious?” He couldn’t see all of her, but he’s got a good idea about what kind of shape she’s in. 

“It’s a tank thing,” she giggled. 

“Okay, it’s down to the med facilities for you, tank,” Tony said and turned to walk away. Bruce looked down at the bodyguard, who was smiling up at him with half of her face covered in blood. 

“I think green is my new favorite color.”

“She is really out of it. She must’ve taken a really hard hit to the head,” Clint said with a shit-eating grin. Bruce remembers Tony and Clint, but he doesn’t remember everyone being this relaxed. 

“Isn’t green already her favorite color?” Tony asked and glanced over his shoulder. 

“Has been for the past ten years at least, so I think a Doc is just what the tank ordered.” Clint was grinning at him, and Bruce didn’t know what to say. Or how to act. He’s feeling a little lost. 

“You should come down too. I can stitch that up for you, if you like,” Bruce said with a pointed look at the still bleeding hole in Clint’s arm. They stopped in front of the elevator, where Tony was holding the doors open, and Clint’s smile looked more genuine than manic. 

“Yeah? Thanks, Doc. I need to call in SHIELD to come take care of the bodies first and then I’ll be right down.” The elevator doors closed as soon as Bruce stepped inside, and Jo groaned as the elevator moved and turned her face into Bruce’s bare chest. 

“She needs to be treated first anyway.”

“Mmm, my hero,” she sighed and promptly passed out again.

**.xXx.**

“Holy shit.” The three men in the room froze at the sound of the whisper and remained motionless as Darcy walked farther into the room. As for Darcy, she could only see Jo. She didn’t see Tony, who was so tense that it was starting to look painful. She didn’t pay attention to Clint, whose eyes missed nothing and was dripping blood. She didn’t notice Bruce, who was stitching up the archer and only wearing a pair of scrub pants.

“Darce?”

“I thought she was indestructible.” Her voice was strong, but her fingers shook just a little as she touched Jo’s pinky finger. This is Jo, who laughs off getting shot in the head and responds to the name Tank. 

“They hit her hard. Jo can heal at a rapid rate and survive injuries that us mere mortals can’t, but she’s got limits. Healing that much damage in such a short span of time takes its toll. Sometimes, the paint on the tank chips.” Clint’s voice was fond, like he’d heard that particular phrase several times over the years, and Darcy shuffled a little. 

Jo looks like she got ran over by a tank instead of being one. She’s stripped down to her matching set of sailor blue bra and panties, and her blood caked hair is half up and half down. Her long tanned limbs are clean of blood, but that just makes it easier to see all the bruises. Her ribs and right bicep are so swollen that several bones have to be severely broken, and her left arm is one giant bruise. Bullet holes are peppered across her bare skin, like she got hit by a firing squad. Jo should never look like this. 

“Keep it clean, and I’ll check in a few days to see if they’re ready to come out. Um, Tony? I know we have a lot to talk about, but I could use a little rest, after…”

“Yeah, no problem, big guy. Right this way. Clint?”

“I’ll be up in a minute.”

“Darcy?”

“In a minute.” Tony and the other guy disappeared, and Darcy realized that Clint was standing right beside her. He was looking down at Jo too, but he didn’t look as worried as she felt. “She told me about…that place. She said that you saved her, and that’s why you’re friends.”

“Saved her, huh?” What Jo had actually said was the rescue mission was a complete disaster, but it all worked out in the end. She wouldn’t say what happened inside either, just that she was a telepath when she came out. Darcy doesn’t need the whole story; she can read between the lines. Whatever happened there, it was bad. 

“She’ll be okay, right?” Clint’s eyes met hers, hazel, and he smiled just a little. 

“I watched Jo cannonball off the helicarrier onto an enemy jet. The crash left a little crater in the ground, and Jo was laughing when we found her. She can live through anything.”

“She’s that strong?” Clint hummed an answer, and Darcy nodded her head. It hasn’t even been three weeks, but she’s already attached. She told herself she wouldn’t get attached, but here she is about to cry at her new friend’s bedside even though her new friend will be completely okay. 

“Come on, let’s go back upstairs.” Clint’s fingers touched the back of her hand, and Darcy let go of Jo’s pinky so she could hold onto his hand instead. The calluses on his fingers were rough against her skin, but she didn’t mind. Clint led the way to the elevator, and he didn’t let her hand go.

**.xXx.**

Coming back to consciousness was not a pleasant feeling; it was fuckin’ amazing. Jo realizes that doesn’t make any sense, but it is what it is. She’s still sore, so she’s still in the process of healing, but she’s alive. Sometimes referring to oneself as indestructible can give a person a big head, but that just means that there’s a bigger target to deflate. The target being her ego, which is represented by all of her and not just her head. Jo felt a light pressure on her left hand, and she forced her head up to get a better look.

“Hey, take it easy. You shouldn’t be moving around just yet.” Jo’s head swiveled to the side, and she felt her brows pull together as she tried to place the man. He looks normal enough, with his mop of curly brown hair and nice brown eyes, but Jo knows better than most that looks can be deceiving. Her eyes, still a bit hazy but clearing with every passing second, narrowed in on the blue button-down shirt. She caught a flash of a green chest and then a hairy tanned chest, and everything seemed to slot into place.

**.xXx.**

“Hey, Doc! Sorry for the Sleeping Beauty routine. I guess you patched me up? Did you turn Tony and Clint into nurses?” Bruce tried not to be surprised at the bodyguard’s easy tone, and he shouldn’t be after the whole jumping hug thing on the roof. In the past twelve hours, he’d slept for nine and spent the past three telling himself that it was all because of her delirious state.

“Clint was a patient. Nothing big, just a graze on his arm. Tony was more of a…hmm.”

“Nuisance?” Jo offered. Bruce watched the way the way her muscles contracted as she pulled herself into a sitting position, and she barely even winced at the pull. 

“He was just worried, they all were, but Tony…I don’t think I’ve ever seen him that worried.” It was a little strange seeing such an unsure look on the confident billionaire’s face, but Bruce has been listening to their conversations over a phone line for months. He knows they’re close, so Tony’s worry makes sense. 

“That idiot. He knows that I’m okay, but he’s such a worrier. Don’t worry, Doc, I’ll go knock some sense into him. How’re Clint and Darcy?” Jo swung her legs over the side of the table and then turned her head so that she could see his eyes. 

“Uh, I haven’t seen anyone else. I came down here after I woke up.” Jo rolled her neck and sighed at the quiet pops, and Bruce watched the way her mostly free hair swayed with the movement. 

“Alright, well, first things first. I’m going up to take a shower. I can definitely feel blood in my hair, and it makes me all itchy. You should eat somethin’, Doc. Knowing Tony, he’ll want to schedule a team meeting and make us all talk.” She was standing next to him now, and Bruce was startled to realize that she was only a few inches shorter than him. 

“I didn’t think team meetings would be Tony’s thing,” Bruce laughed quietly. 

“Tony takes any chance to talk about himself.” Jo was smiling over at him again, perfectly at ease even though she was covered in bruises with blood in her hair. 

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right.” Jo grinned and then walked away, and Bruce wanted to ask her to lay back down. The bullet holes and large cuts were gone, but her back was still mottled with bruises of varying colors. He moved to the doorway to watch her enter the elevator, and she smiled at him one last time after turning around. 

“See you later, hero!” Bruce stood stunned for a moment and leaned heavily against the doorway. He tried to coincide the bruised walking mass of flesh with the panicked sound of her rough voice as she shook in a bathtub with a naked and hallucinating Tony Stark. The woman wasn’t anything like he suspected, but that shouldn’t be surprising.

**.xXx.**

Tony was half asleep when he heard his bedroom door closing, and he opened bleary eyes to see a freshly showered Jo sauntering over to him. He knew she was freshly showered because her wet hair was pulled up into a tight ball, and she had changed into yellow panties and a nice black button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows.

“Is that my shirt?” Tony grinned as Jo balanced on the edge of the bed on her knees, and Jo smiled gently back. 

“Yeah, it’s the strangest thing. I found it just lying on my bed and thought I’d take it for a ride. Looks good on me, right?” Jo carefully lowered herself down onto the bed, and Tony rolled over onto his back. Jo practically sunk down onto him, and he panicked for a moment about where to put his hands. He knew that she still hurting after that attack, and he didn’t want to make it any worse. Her head was pillowed on the space between the arc reactor and his collarbone, and Jo’s hand was pressed flat against his bare stomach since he was shirtless. Tony finally settled on placing his hand against her hip, lightly, so he wouldn’t hurt her. 

“You’re an idiot,” Tony huffed.

“Duly noted.”

“I mean it, a real idiot. What were you thinking?” Tony’s voice was harsh, but Jo tilted her face up to smile at him. 

“You’re safe.” She said it so easily, like it was the simplest thing in the world. Maybe, for her, it was.

**July 25, 2014**

Jo’s second return to consciousness was much more pleasant. There was still a dull throb of pain across her body, but it was fading. At some point, the natural order of sleeping positions was restored. She was sprawled out on her back, and she could feel slight stubble rubbing across her stomach. Her fingers were buried in Tony’s hair, and the fact that she could recognize her boss’s hair from touch alone should’ve been frightening but was instead comforting. Tony’s legs had hers trapped against his silky sheets, and he was so warm.

“Can we wake up like this every day?” Tony slurred sleepily. Jo didn’t have the heart to remind him that they already woke up like this every morning, but they usually have Darcy as an alarm clock. 

“Operation lifetime sleepover is a go,” Jo mumbled back. Tony made a happy slash sleepy noise and nuzzled against her stomach, and she let her fingers comb through his hair. After a minute, she realized that her foot was asleep and shifted to get some better blood flow. 

“Don’t go.” Tony’s hands tightened around her hips, and Jo finally opened her eyes to look down. Dark brown eyes met hers, and Jo’s smile felt both happy and sad. 

“I’m not going anywhere, Tony. You hear me? I’m never going to leave you.” Since he’s still mostly asleep, hearing his thoughts is even easier than normal. He’s worried that she’ll go out to fight one day and never come back, or that she’ll just get tired of his shit and leave him. They all leave, eventually. 

“I think I love you.” Tony blinked after the words left his mouth, and she gently brushed his hair back. 

“Love you too, boss. Get some more rest, okay? We’ll get up in a few minutes.” The shirt that Jo was wearing had the last few buttons undone, which is why Tony was able to press his cheek against the bare skin of her stomach. Jo kept one hand in his hair and used the other to make sweeping circles over his back, and she watched as his breathing slowly evened out. 

Jo was almost back to sleep herself when the door slammed open, and she groaned as her body automatically went vertical. The sudden move pushed Tony off of her and onto the actual bed, and he was on his knees and running his hands over her to check for injuries in the blink of an eye. Jo swatted at his hands to make him stop, glared at him to let him know that she was completely okay, and Tony dropped back down onto the bed after giving her an impressive eye roll. He pressed his cheek against her thigh, and they both turned to look at the doorway. 

“Remind me to give Darcy a twenty,” Clint said slowly. He was blinking at them with his lips barely parted, and Jo felt like laughing. He looks so shocked, and…wait! Why does he owe Darcy money? “She told me that you two slept together, but I didn’t believe her. Remind me not to ever bet against her too.”

“Why are you in here disturbing my sleep?” Tony asked. He’s wide awake now, which means he’ll never go back to sleep, but it’s still a good question.

“Thor’s here,” Clint grinned. That had Tony sitting straight up, and Jo watched with amused eyes as he wiggled off the bed and disappeared into the closet. 

“Put these on so people will stop thinking we’re sleeping together!” Tony yelled and threw something at her. Jo caught the pair of bright red leggings and rolled her eyes; she’s still wearing his button-up, so she doubts that a pair of leggings will help at all. Going by the head-shaking that Clint’s doing, he agrees. 

“Did you two get married while we were gone?” Clint asked. 

“No, but we did start planning,” Jo said as she yanked the leggings up her…legs. 

“Am I invited?” Clint’s wearing his shit-eating grin, and Jo feels…perfect. So she got shot several times yesterday, but it’s all good now. 

“We want you to be the flower girl,” Tony said as he emerged from the closet. He’s wearing jeans that have seen better days and an old Iron Maiden shirt, so they’re definitely spending the day in. 

“Natasha is going to be so jealous,” Clint sighed. 

“Why are you two just standing there? We’ve got a Viking god waiting for us downstairs.” Tony hooked his elbow around hers on his way out of the room, and Jo could hear Clint giggling behind them. He’s enjoying this way too much. 

“Can I have a flower crown?” Clint asked as they stepped into the elevator. 

“We’re bringing in several different models for you to choose from. Do you think Natasha will officiate?” 

“I am not getting shot at my wedding,” Jo pointed out. 

“Reception?” She looked over at her boss, who looked completely serious. 

“Wouldn’t be a party without gunfire.”

“I want Darcy as my best man.”

“Then I get Thor as maid of honor.”

“Jo! You’re alive!” Jo was so busy going back and forth with Tony that she didn’t even realize they were halfway across the foyer, until Darcy’s arms locked around her neck. 

“You sound surprised. I’m starting to feel insulted, Darcy.” The other woman let her go and took a step back, and Jo smiled. Clint walked around her and Tony to stand next to Darcy, and the archer slung an arm around the girl’s shoulders. 

“See? I told you she’d be fine.” Darcy looked at Clint, looked at Jo, and then looked back at Clint. 

“Are they planning a wedding?” Darcy whispered. 

“You’re the best man and I’m the flower girl,” Clint whispered back. 

“You owe me twenty bucks.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Darcy!” All four of them jumped at the sound of the loud booming voice, and Jo popped up onto her tiptoes to watch Thor walk into the foyer from the dining room. Bruce was right behind him, so the only person missing now is Natasha. And the Captain, but he hasn’t made an appearance at all so his absence is a given. 

“Thor! This is my friend, Jo.” Big blue eyes looked her way, and Jo tried to stand a little straighter. He’s dressed in the same battle armor as that day in the kitchen, and his eyes look about the same. She still wants to hug him. 

“Lady Jo! I am sorry for not properly introducing myself last time we met and for not assisting you in yesterday’s battle,” Thor said solemnly and bowed his head to her. 

“Don’t worry about it, big guy. Hulk and I managed to hold the fort down.” When she glanced over, Bruce smiled shyly at her. It was both cute and endearing, and can’t they just all have one big group hug?

“Thor heard my prayer, which I didn’t even know was a thing that he could do,” Darcy said. 

“You prayed for me?” Darcy nodded her answer, and Jo looked at Thor. “And you came?”

“Darcy is a dear friend, and she was concerned about your safety. Of course I came.”

“All of this is very touching and everything, but can we hash everything out in the den? Where there are couches?” Jo looked over at Tony, who just shrugged at her look and then pulled her towards said room. Looks like it’s time for that big team meeting.

**.xXx.**

“Excuse me, miss? Would you mind turning the volume up?” The waitress paused for a moment to look at him, and Steve tried to give her his nicest smile. It must’ve worked, because the young girl hurried over to the mounted television and raised the volume. Steve reminded himself to give the girl an extra-large tip before giving his full attention to the wide screen.

_“There has yet to be any word on the attack that occurred at Tony Stark’s newly acquired home. There were several reports of rapid gunfire and low flying helicopters, but no one has yet to be taken into custody and Tony Stark is refusing to give a statement about the disturbance.”_

There was a picture behind the blonde anchorwoman’s head of said home, and Steve’s mind boggled at the sight of the large house. Tony had invited him to come stay, along with the others. Steve promised to think about it, and Tony had given him his space since that last phone call. Was Tony living there alone? Had he been prepared for an attack? Was anyone hurt? Maybe he should go check in, just to make sure that everything was okay. He’s not very far from Manhattan, an hour away at the most. Steve blindly reached into his wallet and laid down a bill before rushing out of the small café to his bike. He has somewhere to be. 

Inside the café, the young waitress nearly fainted when she saw the one hundred dollar bill sitting on the immaculate table. A hottie that knew how to clean up after himself, was super nice, and dropped a Benjamin like it was nothing? Best customer ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone who is curious, I have posted a one-shot that details what Bruce has been up to since the Battle of Manhattan. It's not necessary, but I think it's a fun little read. It's called _The Other Guy_ and it's the third part of Archaic Kinds Of Fun.
> 
> Everyone made an appearance! Bruce and Thor are actually in Avengers Mansion, and Steve got his little ending scene. If there are any questions about anything, let me know!
> 
> Song Used: _At Last_ by Etta James


	9. The God Of Pancakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _"Do you think we'll still be dancing together a year from now?_   
>  _"We'll be dancing together ten years from now, Josie."_   
>  **Jo & Clint, Roughly Eight Years Ago**   
> 

“So, uh, has anyone seen—”

“I’m here,” Natasha said and sat down next to Clint on a loveseat. Darcy is sitting on a couch next to Thor, who’s taking up most of the couch, and Bruce is sitting in a chair not too far away from the couch that she’s sitting on with Tony. Well, she’s sitting. Tony is laying down with his head pillowed in her lap, which is why she’s not voting for him to be the leader. Leaders are supposed to sit up and look commanding, not sprawl on a couch like an overgrown kitten. 

“JARVIS? What’s our bullet list?” Tony asked once everyone was properly settled. 

“List?” Darcy mumbled. Poor girl has no idea what she’s in for, and neither does anyone else going by the blank looks on everyone’s faces. 

“First order of business is Dr. Banner’s appearance and the Hulk’s speech capabilities, sir.”

“Ah, right.” Everyone’s eyes turned to look at Bruce, who tried not to fidget under the scrutiny. “Bruce?”

“Before I left, you said something to me,” the doctor said as he looked at Tony. 

“You are him, and he is you. If you’re good, then so is he,” Tony recited. 

“Right, well, it got me thinking. I was waiting to board a plane when a man in a wheelchair stopped to speak to me, to point me in the right direction,” Bruce said with a small smile directed at Tony and Jo. 

“You gotta be talking about the Professor. He sent you to Dizzy, didn’t he? Crazy bitch in the mountains?” Jo asked quickly. Bruce’s eyes widened, but Jo could tell he was taking everything in stride. 

“Rainforest now, actually. Do all telepaths know each other?” It was an innocent question, with no malicious intent, but Jo felt something as sharp as a knife twisting in her stomach. 

“Dizzy helped train me, kinda. She did the best she could. Kooky old bat drove me up the walls,” Jo laughed. Tony’s hand looked like it was just resting on her knee, but he was squeezing it just enough to give her something else to focus on. At everyone’s confused looks, Jo decided to explain. She gave a quick rundown of who Professor X is and the boarding school, and she explained that Dizzy is a mutant and a telepath who’s an old friend of the Professor. 

“She is a little…eccentric, but she helped me to communicate with Hulk. We listen to each other now, and I don’t keep him locked away all the time.” Tony and Darcy looked fascinated, Natasha looked a little worried, and Clint and Thor grinned. 

“We must spar soon! It has been too long since I’ve tested my might against the green one!” Bruce looked over at Thor, and the whole room seemed to freeze as Bruce’s eyes bled green. His eyes were the only things that became discolored, and Jo took the tiniest peek. She could hear a deep rumbling laugh and Bruce’s own softer voice locked inside of one mind. 

“Holy fuck, that’s awesome,” she whispered. 

“Hulk would like that. He said smashing puny gods was better than rocks,” Bruce said with a gentle smile.

“You two talk?” Natasha asked with a raised brow. Jo doesn’t know the details, but she knows something happened between the assassin and Hulk during that whole Loki thing. 

“He says that he’s sorry. He thought you wanted to hurt us, but he knows that you mean no harm now.” Bruce paused as his eyes flashed before focusing on Natasha once more. “No harm to us, at least.”

“You’re both here to stay, right?” Tony asked. Bruce nodded, which was apparently a good enough answer for Tony. “What about you, Thor? Staying or visiting?”

“Staying. Though much has happened during my absence.” Thor looks sad again, but Jo can’t hug him because Tony’s got her pinned down. 

“You can tell us, buddy,” Darcy said and lightly patted an armored shoulder. Thor laid a giant hand on her shoulder and smiled his thanks, and Jo decided that a smile looked better on him than a frown. 

“Eons ago…” 

Thor told them all about restoring the Bifrost and the fighting between realms, but things got really weird once he started talking about Dark Elves. Jo thought she was going to cry when he talked about his mother sacrificing her life for Jane, and the whole room looked ready to riot when he said that he freed Loki for his help. Then Loki got dead while doing the right thing, the bad guy was killed, and Thor told his father that he didn’t want to rule before returning to Earth. Apparently, he was only with his Jane for two days before Heimdall called him back. The person he said goodbye to was Loki, not Odin. Odin was found in some secret chamber, where he was standing vigil over his wife’s bedside, who was _not_ dead. Yeah, Thor wasn’t all that happy about finding out his dad lied to him. Then came the task of finding Loki, which was surprisingly easy. 

“He was back in his cell?” Clint’s incredulous tone matched the look on everyone’s faces. 

“He was in his cell, and he has not spoken a word.” The majority of the room hates Loki, and she gets that, but Thor looks really worried about his brother. 

“You’re welcome to stay as long as you want, Thor. Room’s already set up and everything,” Tony said. Jo’s so proud of how much he’s grown. 

“Thank you,” Thor said with a smile. 

“Natasha? Why did HYDRA agents attack my house?” Jo looked across the small circle they were in at the redheaded assassin, and green eyes met hers. 

“I don’t know why they attacked. Fury said he would meet us at his earliest convenience.”

“Earliest convenience?! They bombed my house! They turned my bodyguard into Swiss cheese!”

“Hey! I was not that holey!” Tony twisted in her lap so he could stare up at her, and Jo rolled her eyes. “You’ve got a point though. Fury owes us an explanation.”

“Natasha?” The assassin looked away from Jo to Tony and nodded once. 

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“Okay. JARVIS, is that everything?” Please, let that be everything. Jo hates this part of team meetings; it’s like being debriefed, and she really hates debriefings. 

“The new communication devices, sir.” Oh yeah, she remembers Tony mumbling something about easier ways for everyone to communicate. It’s smart, but can’t they do this later?

“I want all of us to wear communication devices so that we can keep in touch easier, and they don’t have to be ear pieces. Jewelry, watches, I don’t really care.”

“A watch would be fine,” Bruce said first. 

“I would prefer an arm guard,” Thor stated. 

“Bracelet, yeah, I can do that,” Tony muttered to himself. Jo can feel his mind spinning with new possibilities, and she’s starting to feel a little bad for Darcy. Yeah, Jo is going to have to listen to his rambling, but Darcy is his official assistant. 

“A necklace might be good. I can’t have anything on my hands or arms,” Clint threw out. Tony’s thoughts are hitting hurricane levels now. 

“I had my tragus pierced once, so something there would be alright.” Jo grinned up at Tony, and he reached up to flick her ear. 

“Cartilage, ear,” Darcy added.

“Diamonds,” was all Natasha said. 

“Got it! Anything else, JARVIS?”

“I believe that is everything, sir.” Jo breathed out a sigh of relief and slumped back against the couch, because it’s over. Now she gets to go down to the gym and work out the remaining kinks in her body. 

“Darcy, Bruce, I need you two in the lab. Thor, if you’re up to it, Jo could use a sparring buddy.” Jo met the god’s bright blue eyes and nodded with a smile. The big guy looks like he could use it too; sometimes a nice friendly fight is all that’s needed to clear the mind. 

“I would be honored, Lady Jo.”

“I’d appreciate it. I’ve got some post-battle kinks to work out,” Jo said and pushed Tony into a sitting position. She popped up onto her feet, and everyone else started moving too. 

“Assassins, you can—”

“Captain Rogers has arrived, sir.”

“—explain everything to the Cap’n. Have a good spar, sweetheart.” Jo let Tony kiss her on the forehead and then glared at his back as he walked from the room. Darcy said a few words to Thor before following after Tony, and Jo and Darcy high-fived as they passed one another. Bruce and Natasha were already gone too, so Jo was left with just Thor and Clint. 

“You and Tony are such a married couple,” Clint said with a little quirk of his lips.

“You two make a fine pairing, Lady Jo,” Thor added. Clint snorted out a laugh, and Jo resisted the urge to hit him. Barely. 

“We’re not actually together, Thor. We just care about each other a lot.” Hey, wait, Tony told her that he loved her earlier. And she said it back! It’s true, but she should probably check on Tony later. Sometimes he’s not all that good with feelings. 

“Ah, yes, Darcy said something about a…bodyguard? I am a little confused about the term.”

“I’ll explain it all on the way to the gym. Have fun with Cap and Natasha, Clint!”

**.xXx.**

“Do you even really need me for anything?” Darcy asked for the third time. The first two times Tony was too busy rattling off equations to hear her. Wide brown eyes blinked, and Tony finally seemed to realize her presence.

“What?” Bruce had the same confused look on his face. It’s like they both forgot about the rest of the world because they were so focused on their science. 

“Do you need me or can I take a break?” 

“A break? Yeah, sure. I’ll call you if I need anything,” Tony said and immediately turned back around. Darcy nodded, to herself, and walked out of the lab. She can go to her room, or the kitchen, but she knows where really wants to go. She rode the elevator straight down to the basement and pushed on the big door to the gym. 

The first thing she saw when she walked in was Jo flying through the air, and her laugh seemed to echo in the large room. Jo’s back hit the wall, and the wall just seemed to absorb the hit. Bare feet pushed off the wall, and this time it was Thor’s laugh that echoed in the room as Jo hit him in a flying tackle. Thor’s loud laugh was something she hadn’t heard in a really long time, but of course, it would be fighting that would get it out of him. How could Jane leave him? His being a god and looking the part aside, he’s such an amazing guy. Whatever. She’s just glad that he looks happy now. 

Darcy leaned back against the wall to watch as the two _destroyed_ each other. They had both changed clothes from earlier, which was a good call because every day clothes would not be able to survive this. A pair of hot pink running shorts and a yellow sports bra replaced the leggings and button-up from earlier, and Darcy will never understand why Jo never wears clothes that match. Thor was out of his battle armor for once and was only wearing a pair of dark gray basketball shorts. She’s not sure where Jo found the shorts, but she’s really glad that she did. Thor’s hair was up in a ball, and Darcy felt just a smidgen of pride at the look. When Thor stayed with her and Jane for those two days before returning to Asgard, she taught him how to put his hair up like that. 

“Come on, Josie! Kick his ass!” Darcy jumped so fast she nearly fell over, and the strong hand gripping her bicep was the only thing that kept her upright. 

“Dude, you came out of nowhere!” Darcy gasped. Clint smiled at her, and Darcy realized, not for the first time, just how hot the archer was. His dark blonde hair was short but still managed to spike up some, his pretty hazel eyes were filled with constantly changing colors, and he is built. 

“Quit scaring Darcy!” Jo yelled. Thor used the distraction to body-check her, and she went sailing through the air again. Thor straightened and raised a hand in greeting. 

“Hawkeye! Have you come to fight as well?!” Huh, that’s the first time she’s heard anyone use Clint’s codename. Thor fought with him in the Battle of Manhattan though, so that’s probably just what he remembers him as. 

“Call me Clint! And I never go against Jo! She fights dirty!” As he talked, Jo came up behind Thor and jumped up onto his shoulders. She locked her legs around his neck, twisted her body, and somehow managed to throw the big guy across the room. 

“I’ll never get over how strong she is,” Darcy muttered. 

“You get used to it. Don’t ever arm wrestle her though. Or try to out drink her.” Darcy looked over at Clint, and she knows from the look on his face that he’s done both of those. Probably more than once. 

“That’s Tony’s bodyguard, right?” Darcy leaned to the side at the sound of a new voice, and blue eyes looked down at her. It’s Captain America! The real Captain America is standing close to her, and he’s probably going to be living with them. 

“That’s Jo. Natasha get you all caught up?” The Captain nodded and then moved his eyes over to her. 

“You must be Darcy, Tony’s assistant. I’m Steve Rogers. Nice to meet you, ma’am.” Darcy slowly reached up to shake his hand, and she’s never seen someone’s smile look so earnest before. 

“No ma’am, just Darcy. It’s an honor to meet you,” Darcy said quickly. 

“Where is Natasha?” Clint asked. Steve shrugged and opened his mouth to answer, but a shot rang out through the room and cut him off. Jo hit the floor instead of executing a clean kick to Thor’s chest, and blood sprayed from her head in a wide arc. 

“Aww, why’d ya do that, Nat?! I almost had him!” Jo yelled as she got to her feet. The bullet wound was completely gone, and Jo glared at the woman standing in the doorway. Dark green met bright green, and Darcy thought it was a little ironic how Natasha’s curly red hair was the same shade as the blood on the floor. 

“I like Thor better than you,” Natasha said with a one shoulder shrug. 

“Lady Natasha, that was not fair,” Thor reprimanded. Looks like Thor and Jo are already friends, or maybe he’s saying that because he’s a decent person. 

“But it was fun,” she smiled.

“Fun for you,” Jo grumbled. 

“Does this happen regularly?” Steve asked in a quiet voice as Jo and Natasha kept going back and forth. 

“It’s how they say hello,” Clint whispered. He raised his voice for the next part, “Now, now, ladies. Let’s not—”

“Shut up, Clint!” Natasha and Jo both stared at each other as if disbelieving they spoke at the same time, and Darcy looked around at everyone in the room. It’s not just gonna be her, Jo, and Tony anymore. Looks like things are about to get interesting.

**.xXx.**

“Excuse me, sir, but the pizza has arrived.” Tony’s spine cracked as he slowly sat up, and he rubbed a hand across his eyes. Across from him, Bruce kept inputting who-knows-what. They started working on separate projects about an hour ago? No, maybe a couple of hours ago.

“Why ya tellin’ me this, JARVIS?”

“Miss Jo and Miss Natasha have requested your presence in the dining room, along with Dr. Banner.” Tony snorted at that and got to his feet.

“I better go make sure one of them isn’t dying,” he mumbled as his knees cracked.

“Miss Jo has only been shot twice today,” JARVIS reported. 

“Only twice?” Tony mumbled to himself. Not bad. He slapped Bruce on the back, somewhere around the shoulder blade area, and the good doctor’s brown eyes were tinted green when he looked up. 

“Hulk and I are both under control,” Bruce said automatically. Like Tony is worried about him Hulking out? Hulk saved his life, so he’s completely okay with the big guy. 

“Yeah, I know. The girls want us to come down for pizza.”

“They do?” Bruce pushed his glasses up into his hair and rubbed the bridge of his nose, and Tony kinda gets it. Bruce has been on his own for so long that he probably doesn’t remember how all of this works. (Tony’s not really sure about how all of this works either, so they’ll all figure it out together.)

“Mhmm, and if we don’t go down, Jo will drag us out. It’s very unpleasant.”

“So she still carries you around then?” Bruce asked as he stood up. Tony glared at him, but there wasn’t any real anger in it. Besides Jo, Bruce is the only one who knows just how bad he got. 

Tony and Bruce walked side-by-side to the elevator, and they talked about their separate projects on the way down. Tony’s still working on the different communication devices, and Bruce is working on Hulk-proof clothes. There’s just not enough time in the day for everything that needs to be done. They were both so wrapped up in giving the other ideas that neither one of them heard the noise until after Tony opened the dining room doors, and they both paused in the doorway to try to take in the scene. Is this how Darcy feels when she walks in on him and Jo in various states of undress?

The long table is covered in pizza boxes, two liter bottles of different kinds of soda (the house is completely void of alcohol on Jo’s orders), and cards. Jo and Darcy are sitting side-by-side on top of the table, and they’re both holding onto each other as they laugh. Natasha and Steve are sitting on one side of the table, and Steve is smiling as Natasha whispers something to him. Clint is sitting on the other side of the table and is nearly flush against Thor’s side, and he’s explaining the rules even though the two of them are obviously playing as partners. Tony’s pretty sure that it’s a poker game, but there’s no money spread around. Instead they’re playing for…

“Skittles, really?” Six heads swiveled to look at him, and they all had matching manic glints in their eyes. They’ve even managed to corrupt the Cap’n!

“They enable us to taste the rainbow!” Thor helpfully informed. 

“Of course they do. I’m just going to—”

“Oh no you don’t!” Jo yelled. She nearly tripped over Darcy in her haste to get to him, and Tony groaned as loud as he could as she pulled him over to the table. “You too, Doc. Come on.”

“I really don’t think—”

“Tony can partner up with Darcy, and I’ll take the Doc.” Natasha’s arm snapped out and grabbed Tony’s arm, and she pushed him into a chair at the head of the table. Her cool green eyes looked from Bruce to the empty chair next to Tony, and Bruce slowly sat down in the empty seat. 

“You already have a partner,” Natasha said as Jo huffed and moved back on top of the table. 

“Yeah, Jo! You can’t just switch partners like that!” Clint yelled. Jo, who was now back in her place, hooked an arm around Darcy’s neck and pointed a menacing finger at the archer. 

“Darcy’s the only partner I need!”

“Oh yeah! Well I got the God of Thunder! Suck on that, Josie!”

“Don’t make me come down there, Clinton!” Thor slapped his cards down onto the table, and everyone visibly jumped before looking over. The cards showed a royal flush, and Thor’s toothy grin made Darcy smile. 

“I believe I have won the rainbow.” Tony reached over to pat the big guy’s arm and smiled. 

“You sure have, buddy.”

**.xXx.**

_He can’t get the suit to work. He’s locked inside, and he can’t do anything. Why can’t he do anything?!_

_“Because you’re not Iron Man. You’re just Tony,” Pepper whispered in his ear._

_“You’re wrong. The suit and I are one. I am Iron Man.” He is, he is, he is._

_“Then save her.” The face plate slid back, and he watched as Jo stood in front of him. Her hair was up, and she was wearing his dark red button-up. She wasn’t facing him. Her arms spread out, and she looked over her shoulder at him._

_“Don’t worry, boss. I’ll keep you safe.” The bomb that landed at her feet had Stark Industries written across it, and Jo was still smiling at him with her arms spread when it went off. He watched her disappear in the fire, but he can’t move!_

_“It’s too late, Tony. You’ve lost her,” Pepper whispered. When he turned his head, there was nothing behind him but smoke._

**.xXx.**

“JO!” Dark green eyes popped open, and she looked around the room in a panic. Is someone attacking? Rough hands smoothed across her cheeks, and Jo looked up into Tony’s wide eyes. They fell asleep in his bed after Thor cleaned them out at skittle poker, and everything was fine then.

“Tony? What’s wrong?” The last time Tony looked this panicked, he was hallucinating in a bathtub. Jo sat up as Tony kept looking at her, and he suddenly ducked down. The breath was knocked out of her as Tony tightened his arms around her midsection, and his ear was pressed right over her heart. He’s shaking like he hasn’t in a while, and she ran her fingers through his hair to try and calm him down. 

“Don’t leave.” Jo eased them back down into a horizontal position as she peeked into his head, and everything suddenly made sense. That is one bad nightmare. 

“Never going to leave, remember? I’m right here, Tony. Right here.” He reached up to lace his fingers through hers, but he kept his ear pressed over her heart. He needs to reassure himself that she’s alive and with him, and she’s okay with that. 

“It was Pepper too. I lost both of you. I can’t—”

“Pepper’s fine, you know that. We’re both okay, and so are you.” She’s not sure which part has him more freaked out. The suit not working, her sacrificing herself for him, or Pepper not being there. 

“Will you say it? I think I need to hear it.” She’s so far into Tony’s head now that she can feel him, and she’s seconds away from crying. He can remember his mother and father saying it, but it never felt true to him. Something was always missing. He found it with Pepper, but she left. 

“I love you, Tony.” He relaxed a little against her, and Jo freed one hand to run through his hair again. It’s something that always seems to calm him down. 

“Love you too, sweetheart.” 

Jo hummed quietly as Tony drifted back off to sleep, and she waited until he was in a deep sleep before letting a few tears out. Tony is such an egotistical ass, but she gets why he’s that way now. He decided early on in life that the only person who needed to love him was himself and that he didn’t need anyone, and he was alone for so long. One night stands can’t fill up that hole, but Tony is so incredibly stubborn that he never wanted anything more. All he needed was himself. Until Pepper. Until a group of amazing people called him one of their own. Until a bodyguard saved him from himself. 

Well, she’s going to tell the dumbass she loves him every day until it sticks. It’s the least she can do, because no one has ever needed her the way Tony does. She didn’t even realize how lonely she was until this weird friendship of theirs happened, so she owes him. She owes so much that it’s going to take a lifetime to repay him, and she’s okay with it. There are other people in this world that she loves, but it’s not the same. She’s starting to think that there’s nothing she wouldn’t do for Tony, not after everything she’s seen. She knows _everything_ about him, the good and the bad, and it just makes her love him more. Now all she has to do is make sure that he knows that. The idiotic genius. 

Jo was still holding onto Tony when the sun rose, and his dreams were more peaceful. She held onto him for a little longer and listened to the quiet whirring of his thoughts before deciding that it was time to start her day. She slipped out of the bed once she was sure that he wouldn’t wake up, and she took care of business in the bathroom. She found a pair of green leggings on Tony’s dresser, and she tugged on one of his many Metallica shirts. Once she was properly dressed, she redid her hair and then left the room. She needs some exercise to clear her mind. 

“Good morning, Jo!” Steve called out as she walked inside the gym. He was standing in front of a punching bag and wearing loose sweats, and Jo paused in the doorway. Shirtless Cap in the morning? There are worse ways to start the day. 

“Mornin, Cap! Want me to go?” She knows that sometimes people just want to be left alone when they exercise, so she’ll definitely go somewhere else if that’s what he wants. 

“Steve, please, and I’d like it if you could join me.” Jo paused for the second time and raised her head to meet his pretty blue eyes. (Thor’s eyes are a prettier blue, but she’d never tell Cap that.)

“You want a spar?” She thought that he’d be too old-fashioned to fight a girl, but she might have misjudged him. Oh, she really hopes that she misjudged him. A good clean fight is just what she needs. 

“I’ll understand if you’re not up for it.” His eyes were clear, but his lips twitched like he was fighting a smile. Well, alright. 

“That sounds like a challenge to me, Cap. You know I took on Thor yesterday and almost won?” 

“Almost,” Steve said with a shrug. Yeah, that’s definitely a challenge. 

“Okay, Mr. Super Soldier, let’s see what you’ve got.”

**.xXx.**

Darcy was happily munching on one of Thor’s _fucktastic_ pancakes when Clint finally wandered back in, with two people behind him. Instead of Jo and Tony, like Darcy expected, it was Jo and Steve. Jo was holding an ice pack to Steve’s (chiseled) jaw, and Clint was shaking with silent laughter. Thor waved his spatula in greeting, and Natasha immediately pulled her gun and pointed it at Jo’s head. The fact that she kept chewing like business as usual was Darcy’s first clue that her world was officially topsy-turvy. Jo sighed and seemed to brace herself for the shot, and Clint’s laughter finally exploded out of him. Darcy took another bite despite the weirdness in the air. What? Forget thunder, Thor should be ruling over the pancake franchise.

“You know not to damage the face in a friendly spar,” Natasha stated calmly. Darcy took in her outfit of sleeping shorts and a spaghetti strapped top; where did the gun come from? Where’d she have it stashed?

“It was Clint’s fault!” Jo yelled and pointed at the archer with her free hand.

“It was an accident, that’s all,” Steve said in a calming voice. 

“Yeah, Nat, we all know that sometimes accidents happen,” Jo said with a pointed look. Okay, there’s definitely a double meaning there, and it’s big enough to make Clint stop laughing. Natasha’s green eyes narrowed in a glare, and Darcy snorted back a laugh at the two women. They’re having a glaring match over a table piled high with pancakes, and they’re both barely dressed. Everyone in this house is crazy. 

“Enough!” At Thor’s booming voice, the whole room froze. Except for Darcy, who took another bite. None of her clothes are going to fit after she leaves this table. “We should feast.”

“I’m with Thor,” Clint said and took a seat. Natasha put her gun away and sat back down next to Clint, and Jo pulled the ice pack away from Steve’s jaw. The bruise wasn’t very big and was already fading, and Jo smiled a little. 

“Did we miss something?” Tony asked with a yawn. 

“Just a friendly spar,” Steve said and stepped away to sit down. Bruce mumbled a good morning as he stepped around Jo and Tony, and Darcy kept her eyes on the twosome as she took another bite. Jo pushed up onto her toes and whispered something in Tony’s ear, and whatever it was made Tony smile like…well, it’s how Darcy would smile if she won the lottery. Tony whispered something back that made Jo giggle, which was a little unusual, and the bodyguard pulled her boss over to the table. 

“And now we shall feast!” Thor distributed the plate of pancakes, Darcy might’ve started without everyone else, and everyone tucked into their food. She looked to her side, where Jo was sitting, and felt her eyes go wide. Jo’s stack was twice the size of everyone else’s, and she leaned around the towering tower of pancakes to beam a smile at Thor. 

“You’re the best god ever! I shall sing your praises until my dying breath!” Thor’s booming laugh echoed in the room as they began to eat, and Darcy felt like something heavy had been lifted from her shoulders. 

“Hey, Jo, do me a favor?” Jo looked at her with puffed out cheeks, and she drank half a bottle of water to wash the pancakes down. 

“Whatcha need, Darce?” There’s that nickname again; she’s gonna kill Tony for starting that. 

“Can you watch after Tony today? I’m gonna take Thor shopping.” The Thunder God, no, The God of Pancakes nodded excitedly across from her. 

“Sitting right here,” Tony said in a sing-song voice. 

“Yeah, sure. I feel like being lazy today anyway,” Jo shrugged. 

“We’ve got a tango class at three,” Clint pointed out. 

“When did you have time to set that up?” Jo asked. 

“When you took that extra long nap.”

“Knowing the tango could be useful,” Natasha whispered. 

“We should be back by three,” Darcy said. 

“Good, because I don’t think Tony should be left alone. He’ll stop eating. And showering.”

“And singing.” Darcy and Jo shared a smile as Tony took turns glaring at them, and Darcy felt something very odd settling over her. It felt like…home.

**.xXx.**

“You don’t have to babysit me,” Tony grumbled. Jo placed the peanut butter and jelly sandwich next to his elbow and then jumped up to sit on the table.

“I like to think of it as spending quality time together.” Big brown eyes glared up at her, but Jo just flicked the end of his nose and pointed at the sandwich. “Eat. Before you pass out.”

“Are you wearing my tee shirt to tango class?” Tony pointedly took a very big bite of his sandwich as he waited for her to answer. 

“Yes. Don’t worry though, I’m taking a pair of heels with me. Want a full report when I get back?” She chugged down some of Tony’s water and then handed it to him so he could wash the peanut butter down. 

“I plan on getting it all on video. Did you take Bruce a sandwich too?” Jo blinked and tried not to feel…she’s not really sure what she’s feeling. 

“Should I? Does he work like you do? I’ll go make one,” she said and slipped off the table. Tony grabbed her wrist before she could take a step, and she looked down at him. 

“Bruce is a little more responsible than I am, so cool your jets. It’s just…”

“What?”

“Darcy is the little sister we both never wanted but want to keep around anyway, you’re friends with both the assassins, and you’ve sparred with Thor and Rogers.”

“Point?” She doesn’t like where this is going, because she knows exactly where this is going. 

“You haven’t really talked to him since he got here, and you were the best of friends over a phone line.” Jo leaned back against the table, and she dimly registered Tony holding her hand instead of gripping her wrist. 

“I was a complete idiot after he did that whole protecting me thing. Why couldn’t I have passed out like a normal damsel? No, I had to babble about nakedness, heroes, and the color green,” she finished with a groan. 

“Are you… _embarrassed_?!” Jo swatted at Tony’s laughing face, but he easily ducked her swing and then pulled her to him. He wrapped his arms around her hips and continued to laugh into her stomach, and Jo crossed her arms and rested them on top of his head. 

“It’s not that funny. Feeling embarrassed after doing something embarrassing is completely normal.” Tony continued to laugh for another moment, wiped his face on her shirt, and then leaned back so that just his chin was pressing into her stomach. 

“You know Bruce doesn’t care about any of that, but you can’t avoid him. He’ll think he did something wrong, and—”

“Don’t worry, Tony. I like the Doc, so I’m not going to avoid him. Just let me rebuild my dignity a little first.” Tony wants to dig, she can tell that from the look in his eyes and the gentle pull of his mind, but he’s not going to. That’s good, because she’s not really sure what she’d say. 

“You’re going to be late for your tango class.” Jo smiled down at him, because she’s so happy that Tony has changed into such an amazing person. 

“Have fun playing with your toys.” She ruffled his hair and danced away before he could retaliate. She paused in the doorway to the lab and looked over her shoulder. “And Tony?”

“Yeah?” 

“I love you.” Tony’s answering smile was small but made him look…softer. He mouthed back a reply, and Jo skipped into the hallway and all the way to the elevator.

**.xXx.**

“Please tell me that this is actually happening,” Jo whispered as Clint pressed up against her.

“Oh, it’s definitely happening,” he whispered back as their hips swayed. Eight couples were spread throughout the small ballroom, and their dance instructors were very friendly. They’re also good at their job and are leading them through basic steps before doing anything complicated. 

“He’s surprisingly graceful for someone his size,” Jo commented. 

“And she’s surprisingly patient for someone with her temperament,” Clint added. They both watched as the male instructor walked over to Natasha and Thor, and Thor’s booming laugh filled the room a moment later. Jo was a little confused when Thor said he would like to learn how to do this Midgardian dance, but the real shock was when Natasha offered to be his partner. Jo really hopes that Tony wasn’t joking about filming this. 

“Perfect, perfect, perfect! You two are naturals! Are you lovers?” Jo and Clint shared a look before turning to the female instructor, and they smiled in unison. 

“Just close friends,” Jo offered up. 

“We’ve been dancing together for years,” Clint explained. 

“Excellent! You two will be star pupils! Now, dance! Dance!” The woman spun away, and Jo and Clint started moving again. They moved over closer to Thor and Natasha, who were doing pretty good for beginners. Thor wasn’t stepping on Natasha’s toes. 

“Why do you two do this all the time?” Natasha asked once they were close enough. 

“Because it’s fun,” Jo said with a teasing grin. She can rarely get away with teasing Natasha, because she’s always armed, but Natasha won’t shoot her here. Later, maybe. 

“Because it’s relaxing,” Clint said with a fond smile. Those are the two reasons that they dance; for the pure enjoyment of it and because one of them needs to relax and forget something. 

“This dance is…complicated,” Thor said. He’s still smiling though, so he’s at least enjoying himself. 

“Should we help them?” Clint asked her. Jo help Natasha? It’s an opportunity she can’t pass up. 

“How?” Clint seemed to think it over, while the three of them just looked at each other in slight confusion and a little apprehension.

“Just, mirror what we do, okay? Match our bodies exactly.” Clint pulled her in close, and Jo rested her weight on her heels and waited for Clint to lead. 

“Bend your knees,” Jo said as they started the first step. 

“And don’t be afraid to touch. Tangoing is all about touching,” Clint added. They moved through the first eight steps with ease, but they kept their eyes on Natasha and Thor. 

“You gotta let Thor lead a little. If you don’t trust your partner, you’ll never be able to do it right.”

“Lead with your whole body. Let every little touch be a guide.” 

“And once you get the basics down—”

“—you can really have fun with it!” Jo squealed as Clint lifted her into the air and spun them around, and she could hear the other couples clapping as she was lowered back to the ground. 

“Show off!” she whispered. 

“Yup. Ready to go again?”

**.xXx.**

When the four of them walked into Avengers Mansion, it was to loud applause and a wolf whistle from Tony. Tony, Darcy, Bruce, and Steve were waiting for them in the foyer. Jo and Natasha were both carrying their heels instead of wearing them, and Clint and Thor were both smiling like they’d won something. Probably because they didn’t have to wear heels while dancing. Darcy broke free from the small line first, and Thor swept her up into a spinning hug.

“Dance with me, Darcy!” Thor yelled as they spun around. Jo ducked under one of Darcy’s airborne legs and made her way over to Tony and the Doc. 

“What’d you do?” she asked as soon as she was close enough. 

“We broadcasted. You and Clint show off way too much. I think you might have an ego issue,” Tony said solemnly. 

“Ignore him, ma’am. You and Clint were amazing,” Steve said. He said it so sincerely that Jo almost felt like blushing. 

“And how was my performance?” Natasha asked with a quirked brow. 

“Amazing,” Steve said with another sincere smile. No one can get mad at Captain America. Not even Natasha. 

“Bruce! Tell us that we were amazing!” Clint said as he ran over. Darcy was hanging over one shoulder, until Thor appeared and took her away. 

“Jo, you were amazing,” Bruce said with a small smile. 

“Favoritism! Thor! I need Darcy because I’m sad!” 

“It’s like living with children,” Tony groaned. 

“Freddie.” Tony’s eyes widened at the mention of his little rubber ducky, and Jo smiled in pure innocence. 

“Okay, kiddies! Fun time’s over!” Thor, Clint, and Darcy came to an abrupt halt, with Darcy smushed between the two taller men. 

“I’m hungry. Steve, escort me,” Natasha said and turned to the side. Steve offered his arm, Natasha took it, and the two of them disappeared. 

“I have worked up quite the appetite,” Thor agreed. Darcy was on his back now and having a one armed slap-fight with Clint, and the three of them moved after Natasha and Steve. 

“Are you going with them?” Tony asked. 

“Nope. I think I’ll hit up your candy stash. Want some, Bruce?” She turned to look right at the Doc, and he met her eyes for less than a second before looking away. 

“I’ll pass this time, but thank you. I think I’ll go up to bed,” he said quietly. Jo and Tony watched him go, and they could hear the loud laughter drifting out of the kitchen. 

“Did I do something wrong?” she whispered as they waited for the elevator. They could have gone up with Bruce, but they both made the decision to wait. 

“He’s still adjusting, and you did kind of jump on him and call him your hero.” Jo groaned aloud, once again in embarrassment, and dropped her head onto Tony’s shoulder. 

“Cheer up,” Tony said and bounced his shoulder. 

“I’m such an idiot.” She’s not whining. Well, maybe a little. Just a touch. 

“You want some M&Ms?” Jo twisted to meet his eyes, and Tony smiled at her. A great big grin that made his eyes crinkle. 

“You’re my best friend, Tony.”

“I know.”

“Tony?”

“Hmm?”

“I love you.”

“I know.”

“And?”

“I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I changed up _Thor: The Dark World_. Why? Because I refuse to accept that Frigga's dead. Thor's mama is the coolest lady ever and super badass, so I'm keeping her alive. Also, can't you see Odin telling his son that his mother is dead just to get him to do what needs to be done? (I really don't like Odin.) As for Loki, he's back in prison. It will be a long way down the road, but Loki will pop up again eventually. Just know that for now, he's sitting in a cell and behaving.
> 
> I think this chapter might have been bordering on crack...because I had way too much fun writing it. Everyone is now officially in the house, so let the team bonding begin!


	10. Chandelier Tango

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _so shout if you're a freak like me_   
>  _don't apologize!_   
>  _they can't hold you down_   
>  _you were born to rise!_   
>  _it's our time now to come out!_   
>  **Freak Like Me by Halestorm**   
> 

**July 28, 2014**

“Do you and Tony have a conjoined closet?” Jo blinked to clear her vision and turned her head to the side; she’s laying on the couch and reading, Darcy is carrying stuff back and forth for Tony, and Tony is working on his suit again.

“You know, we kinda do. I can’t remember the last time I wore one of my own shirts,” Jo mumbled quietly to herself. 

“She keeps stealing my band shirts. And my button-ups. And my silk boxers,” Tony grumbled. 

“You wear his boxers?” Darcy asked in a scandalized voice. 

“Just to sleep in. They bunch up under the leggings.” Darcy froze in the middle of transporting a hunk of metal, and Jo met her eyes across the room. 

“Can I just call you mom and dad?”

“I haven’t been called daddy in a while.” Darcy and Jo made the same “eww” face and then continued on with what they were doing. The lab was quiet for the next few minutes, except for the loud music and Tony’s muttering. 

“Mom? How did you know Dad was the one?” Darcy was sitting next to Tony with her cheek resting on her fist and her elbow on the table, and Jo turned to the next page in her book.

“He has a backup Malibu home and looks amazing naked.”

“And your mom does yoga.” 

“I hate both of you.”

“They grow up so fast,” Tony sighed. Jo hummed an agreement, and silence fell over them again. 

“You have an incoming call, sir.” Darcy and Jo both groaned, because most calls mean that they have to go somewhere. Or one of them is going to have to lie and say that Tony Stark is no longer in the country. 

“I’m attending a show in Paris.”

“It’s Director Fury, sir.” Tony dropped what he was working on and spun around, and Jo sat up to watch the show. 

“Stark, I don’t—”

“You owe me an explanation! HYDRA bombed my house!”

“And I cleaned it up! We will talk later! Right now, I need to speak with Eris!” Fury really sounds on edge, more so than usual. 

“Right here, sir.” Tony trained a betrayed look on her, but Jo just shrugged. 

“The Sterling brothers have something of ours, and they have _requested_ that you and Agent Barton retrieve it.”

“Something, huh?”

“This one is strictly off the books, Eris. Retrieve it and keep it safe.” Jo felt her brows pulling together and sat up a little straighter. That’s not proper protocol. 

“Yes, sir. I’ll get Clint and head straight there. JARVIS, can you ask Clint to come here?”

“Make that everyone, JARVIS,” Tony added.

“One last thing, Eris.” Oh, she thought Fury had hung up. He normally hangs up as soon as he’s done saying whatever he needs to say. 

“Sir?”

“We have reports that Deadpool has been frequenting the area.”

“Uncle Wade’s there? Aw, shit! He hasn’t killed too many people, has he?”

“Not this time. Hurry up and get your asses over there!” There was an audible click this time, and Jo groaned as she dropped her head into her hands. 

“Mission?!” Clint slid into the room, and Jo looked up to watch him quickly right himself. Sometimes his ability to reorient himself makes her a little jealous. Everyone else slowly filtered in after him, and Jo stood up so she could stand next to Tony. She leaned on the table next to where he was, and he draped his arm across the table so he could hold onto her opposite hip. 

“Is everything okay?” Steve asked. He might have been the last one to show up, but he’s still got Jo’s vote for leader. 

“About seven years ago, Clint and I did a job in Scotland. There was an underground ring forcing kids to fight off their family’s debts, and a lot of the kids were getting killed. I’m the perfect candidate for a fighting ring, and Clint was my partner. We managed to take out the ring and made a few friends along the way. The Sterling brothers fight fair enough and helped us with the takedown, and they’re actually pretty fun guys. They have something of SHIELD’s, and Fury wants me and Clint to get it,” she explained as quickly as possible.

“Do you need backup?” Yep, she’s definitely voting for Steve. 

“The Sterling brothers won’t hurt us,” Clint said. He looks way too happy. 

“What about Uncle Wade?” Okay, Tony is giving her a very pointed and very angry look. 

“Uncle Wade won’t hurt us either,” she said defensively. 

“Deadpool’s going to be there?” Clint doesn’t sound whiney, per se, but he doesn’t look so happy anymore. 

“Clint, pack a bag and we’ll meet at the foyer in twenty. I need to talk to Tony.” Clint was the first one out of the lab, with what looked like a skip in his step, and everyone else filed out after him. Darcy was the last one to go, and she paused in the doorway. 

“Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll take care of Dad until you get back,” Darcy said and gave her a little salute on the way out. Tony turned his face into her stomach once the room was emptied, and Jo lightly ran her fingers through his hair. 

“Uncle Wade? Really?” 

“A lot of people hate him, so I don’t bring him up. Him and Logan go way back, and I first met him when I was eight. I thought he was fascinating, but Logan can’t stand him. I mean, he’s a mercenary, but I kinda get it. You know his background, right?”

“The experimentation, the torture, and his resulting psychosis? Yeah, I’m familiar.”

“He helped me out after the thing with ROSE, in his own strange way.”

“Why Uncle Wade?” Tony tilted his head to look up at her, but he kept his arms wrapped tight around her middle.

“Because he gets a kick out of it, and Logan gets this funny little throbbing vein on his forehead whenever I call him that.” Tony smiled at her, but his grip around her waist was starting to get a little painful. 

“You’ll be safe?” Jo reached down to grab his face, palms flat against his cheeks, and leaned down to make sure that she had his full attention. 

“I promise that I will come home,” she said slowly. She felt Tony’s mind calm, just a tiny bit, and smiled. “Also, I’m taking some of your shirts.”

“You’re awful!” Tony yelled as she raced from the room. “And I love you!”

“Love you too, boss!” 

It didn’t take her very long to pack, because she only packed one change of clothes and a sturdy hairbrush. She’s wearing a white Iron Man shirt, so she kept it on and traded her leggings for a pair of skinny jeans. She tugged on her pair of steel-toes, because you never know what might happen, and she went ahead and redid her hair. When she got downstairs, Clint was waiting for her in one of those giant wingback chairs that Tony put there on a whim. He had a bag at his feet and a wide smile on his face, and Jo rolled her eyes.

“You know they’re going to kick our asses, right?”

“Not if I kick theirs first. Natasha and Thor will let us know what we miss in tango tonight, and Fury has a jet waiting for us. Let’s go, Josie.” Clint walked out the front door, and Jo stopped just before taking a step outside. 

“JARVIS? You’ll let me know if Tony needs me, right?”

“Of course, Miss Jo.”

**.xXx.**

“I don’t like this plan,” the tallest woman said with a scowl.

“Would you rather we just shoot at them?” the second woman asked with a perfect smile. 

“The two of you are only good for bickering,” the last woman said in a quiet growl. Her face was cloaked in the shadows, but that didn’t stop the other two women from glaring at her. A heavy set of footsteps sounded on the floor, and all three gathered in the room stood a little straighter. They waited as the man who they called leader, for now, walked into the room to see what the final word would be. 

“The plan takes time and will be slow, but we can be patient. They are already moving into position, and we barely even have to lift a finger. For now.”

**.xXx.**

Tony rubbed at his eyes and slouched down in his chair, and he heard Darcy reorganizing some of his tools. Dum-E had an accident earlier and was currently in a time-out, and he’s still wearing that ridiculous sock sweater that Jo knitted. JARVIS just told him that Jo and Clint are now officially out of the country, and he’s got a bad feeling deep in his gut. He prefers to use his intellect to figure out if there’s anything wrong, and Jo said that the mission would be easy. Her and Clint know the people that they’re going to visit…she’ll be fine.

“Can I ask you something?” Darcy’s voice was a little far away, and Tony sighed without opening his eyes. 

“You just did.” He could hear Darcy’s huff and tried not to smile; he really is getting attached to the little spitfire, and she’s a great assistant. 

“Why is there a dreamcatcher in your lab? Shouldn’t it be, you know, in your bedroom?” When his eyes opened, they were already on the dreamcatcher. He’s not really sure why he hung it back up in the lab…but that’s not exactly true. He showed Jo his lab right after showing her bedroom, and her eyes seemed to immediately find the dreamcatcher when she walked inside. She’d smiled and her eyes had watered up again, and she’d hugged him so tight that his spine popped. That’s why he hung it up in the lab. 

“Jo made it and hung it in here.” It’s half the truth. It’s close enough. Darcy hummed and shuffled a few steps over his way so that she was standing directly under it. Looks like she’s done reorganizing. 

“Sounds like her. So, I need to hear the story. If I don’t hear it, I’m going to keep getting freaked out by you two.” Darcy plopped into a chair across from him, and her big blue eyes were looking right at him. 

“What story? I’m not the telepath,” he said with a tight smile. No, his telepath is in a different country and fighting for something that _Nick-fucking-Fury_ wants. 

“About how you guys got so close and how long ago was the failed make out session?” Tony blinked, Darcy smiled, and…what?

“What makes you think we’ve ever kissed?”

“Because you’re always touching, you cuddle, you hold hands, she washes your back…do you want me to keep going?”

“What’s that got to do with kissing?” Science is so less complicated. People are too complicated. Can’t he just go back to science?

“Well, you two had to have tried and then realized that it just didn’t feel right. That’s why you’re so close, right?” Now Darcy looks just as confused as he feels, because where did all of that come from? He’s close to Jo because, because, just because!

“No, we’ve never kissed. She saved my life. That’s all.” She’s taken several bullets for him, and she even let him beat her down to get a point across. She took care of him when there was no one else and somehow managed to save him from himself. She knows every little thing about him; everything that makes him tick, everything that he’s scared of, everything that makes him who he is. Their closeness is logical. She knows, and she still cares. 

“Huh. So how do you know that you’re not in love with her?” Tony keeps forgetting how young Darcy is, but it’s hard to forget right now. Her eyes are big and open, and she’s smiling just a little. 

“I’m just not,” he shrugged. 

“Yeah, but how you do _know_ if you’ve never tried?” Why can’t he just know? Kids these days, always wanting to ask why. 

“Don’t you have something better to do?”

“Do I?” Her nose wrinkled up a little as she smiled at him, and Tony rolled his eyes with a little sigh. 

“You’re free to go. JARVIS will call if I need you.”

“Need some time to think things over?” He just gave her a look, a patented Stark look of exasperation, and she rolled her eyes back at him as she stood up. “Even if it’s not true love, what you and Jo have is still special. Later, Daddy-o!”

**.xXx.**

“Roderick! Camden! Where are ya, ya bastards?!”

“What did ya ca’ me?” Jo locked her legs and crossed her arms, and she felt Clint’s foot and bicep pressing against her. Two pairs of ice blue eyes glared down at them from a towering height of six-five, but Jo didn’t back down. Clint was perfectly calm beside her, which helped Jo keep her calm. 

“You heard me, Cammy. You’ve got somethin’ of mine.”

“We got it, lassie. Safe ‘n’ sound,” Camden said. The only way to tell them apart was by the scar that cut through Roderick’s left eyebrow; the rest of them was completely identical. Both toweringly tall, stacked, and with dark brown hair and ice blue eyes. 

“Ya know there’s only one way to get it,” Roderick said with a teasing grin. 

“You know damn well that I’ve come all the way out here to fight your asses! Now, name the time and place.”

“You remember the time and place, _tank_. As does your dog,” Camden with his teeth bared in a parody of a smile. It sounds like an insult, but he’s actually complimenting Clint. During their last visit, Jo took on the Sterling twins while Clint went head-to-head with their bodyguard. Rory is even bigger than the two men he’d give his life to protect, and Jo had laughed with the twins while Clint wiped the floor with the big guy. 

“I’m guessing you’ve got everything set up for me?” Jo finally asked. They work the underground, so they probably knew the moment that she and Clint touched down. 

“O’course. We’ve got someone else been waitin’ for ya too,” Camden said and turned on his heel. 

“Righ’ this way,” Roderick said with a sweep of his arm. Jo looked at Clint, Clint looked at Jo, and they were both grinning as they walked behind the twins.

**.xXx.**

“Hey, Dr. Banner! Just the doctor I was looking for,” Darcy said with a little wave. The other scientist blinked behind his glasses, and it made him look like an owl for some reason.

“Can I help you with something, Darcy?” She shuffled on her feet and rethought her request really quick; her left arm started itching, just below her wrist, and her decision was reaffirmed. 

“Yeah. Is there any way that you can take a look at my arm? Tony paid the doctor off and stuck me with a cast, but I don’t think it’s actually broken.”

“I don’t know. If another doctor—”

“It’s so _itchy_. If it is broken, don’t worry about it. You’ve gotta have something in here that can see through a cast,” she said and looked around the room. It has the same layout as Tony’s lab, there’s even a couch, but it’s a lot cleaner. 

“I guess taking one look won’t hurt,” he said and slowly stood up. His clothes were ruffled, like he hasn’t been sleeping, and Darcy felt her brows draw together. Her and Jo are going to have to work out a schedule for the two resident scientists. Apparently, genius is another word for forgetful. Forget to sleep. Forget to eat. Forget how to have normal every day conversations. 

“Thank you so much. I keep asking Tony, but him and Jo are both convinced that my arm is all mangled. I tried to tell them that I’m fine.” Bruce directed her over to a seat, and he wheeled over a giant piece of machinery for her to put her arm inside of. 

“When was your arm broken?” Bruce was looking at something on the other side of the machine, so she can’t see him. 

“Um, three weeks ago? Something like that,” she said and shrugged her right shoulder. Her left one needs to stay still for just a little longer. “Is it really broken?”

“No, uh, not at all. Completely healed.”

“See! I knew it wasn’t really broken. Can you get this cast off? I don’t want Tony to take a power saw to my arm.” Twenty minutes later, Darcy was walking around with her left arm in the breeze. Just goes to show that geniuses and telepaths don’t know everything.

**.xXx.**

“Come on, Jo! You can kick that guy’s ass! You’re making your ancestors cry!” Jo watched her blood streak through the air as she tossed her head back and glared over at her Uncle Wade. Of course, everyone in the world would hate him except for the somewhat-good-guy underground fighting ring. The unkillable mercenary had a front row seat, and he had one arm slung around Clint’s shoulders as they both cheered her on.

“I know! It’s the other one I’m worried about!” Right on cue, a fist connected with the center of her spine and threw her forward. Her body crashed into Roderick’s, and she was quick to throw an uppercut into his jaw. She used his body to push herself back, and she hit her knees before Camden could land another hit on her exposed back. 

“Kick his ass, Josie!” Clint yelled. 

“Go, Jo! Go, go, Jo!” Great, not only is she fighting the wonder twins birthed straight from the bowels of Hell, but now she has giggling cheerleaders too? Can this get any worse? A meaty hand wrapped around her ankle and pulled, and Jo was kicking out before her head collided against the concrete floor. And now she’s got a migraine. 

“Is that the best you got?!” She jumped back into the fight with a grin and said to hell with everything else. It’s time to have some real fun.

**.xXx.**

“Show me your fist.” Darcy raised her wrapped fist for Natasha’s inspection and tried not to feel like an idiot. She should have stayed in the lab with Tony; she knew how to handle him at least. “Tuck your thumb under.”

“Like this?” Natasha nodded her approval, and Darcy twisted her wrist to take a look at her thumb placement. Okay, she can remember this. 

“Now, when you punch, hit with your knuckles. Not with the flat part of your fingers. Keep your wrist straight.”

“Knuckles, not fingers, straight wrist. Got it.”

“Okay, face your opponent.” Darcy turned, and Thor smiled down at her. She can’t hit Thor! His jaw will break her hand even if she only taps it. 

“You can do this, Darcy,” Thor said and gentled his smile some. Natasha was walking around behind her, and Darcy shifted on her feet. 

“Lock your knees and angle your hips. Swing from the hips. It makes the hit harder,” Natasha said as she moved Darcy into the right position. “Now, hit him.”

“Sorry, Thor.” Darcy made her fist like Natasha showed her and swung. The punch turned Thor’s head to the side, and Darcy felt her heart pounding in her throat as he used his thumb to wipe at the corner of his mouth. She punched Thor! In the face!

“Very good, Darcy!” Thor laughed as his arms locked around her waist, and she might have screamed just a little when he picked her up and spun her around. 

“It’s a work in progress. Put her down, Thor. Darcy needs to know some basic self-defense just in case we’re not around.” Thor placed her back on the ground at Natasha’s request, and he beamed another smile at her. The big goof is probably just happy to help her out, because he’s an awesome guy like that. (Not for the first time, she wondered how Jane could give him up. Whatever. He deserves better anyway.)

“I am honored to help you, Darcy Lewis.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just stand there and look pretty while I hit you,” Darcy said and smiled back. 

Two hours later, Darcy was completely exhausted and bruised in a few places. Despite all of that, she was laughing and actually having a good time. Thor’s laugh continuously rang out throughout the gym as Natasha showed her new techniques, and the redheaded assassin doesn’t look so menacing when she’s laughing at Darcy’s attempts at self-preservation. Er, self-defense. Maybe it’s because Jo’s not around, but the assassin doesn’t seem so bad. Natasha finally called an end to today’s training though, so she’s now laying across a blue mat and trying to remember how to breathe. 

“You will be a formidable warrior one day, Darcy,” Thor said and lightly patted her knee. He’s sitting up next to her, and Natasha is standing next to him and looking at a cell phone. 

“I’ll leave the woman warrior stuff to people like Jo. And Natasha.” When Natasha looked over, Darcy winked at her. “Is that Clint and Jo?”

“They have completed their mission and will return tomorrow.” Darcy struggled to sit up, and Thor put an arm around her back to help her into a complete sitting position. 

“Why tomorrow?” Natasha raised a brow and pursed her lips, like she’s trying to think of how to answer. 

“They’re…celebrating.”

“There you are! Is everything okay?” Darcy looked over at the doorway, where Steve was standing and looking like he’d just stepped out of a fifties housewife’s wet dream. Why is he wearing an apron?

“Self-defense lessons,” Natasha said. Darcy waved her arm, the cast-free one, and smiled. “Are _you_ okay?”

“Oh, I, um…” It looks like Steve forgot that he was wearing the apron. At least it has Darth Vader on it. “I cooked dinner, if you’re hungry.”

“Dude, I am starving! You’re my hero! Right after Thor. Help me up, please?” Thor lifted her off the ground and tossed her over his shoulder, and Darcy groaned quietly as her sore muscles protested the movement. 

“After dinner, I’ll give you some cream to help with the aches,” Natasha said and glanced over at her. That made Darcy smile, because it looks like the cold assassin can care. 

“Don’t worry. I’ve already got some Arnica.”

**.xXx.**

“Look, Jo! I’m a bird!” Uncle Wade yelled before jumping off the rafters overhead. Rory, a giant redhead with a black eye and missing tooth from his earlier fight with Clint, caught him before he hit the ground and tossed him through the air. Jo’s pretty sure that watching Deadpool is like normal people watching her. Jo’s tough and everything, but he’s at a whole other level. Jo squealed as strong arms latched around her waist and spun her around, and she banged her fists against the top of his masked head.

“Down, boy!” He immediately dropped her, and Jo reached out to grab a covered arm to right herself. 

“C’mon, Jo! We’re celebratin’!” he yelled. 

_“Celebratin’ what?”_ one of the voices whispered. 

_“Celebratin’ the fact that we’re a complete dumbass?”_ another one asked. 

_“Shh! She’s listening!”_

_“She’s always listening. Get outta our head!”_ Uncle Wade shook his head, which just moved the voices around some. The voices are never quiet, and Jo’s one of the few people who gets that. Her Uncle Wade can’t really help who he is. 

“Why the long face, pussycat?” He tapped her chin and bent at the knees, and Jo looked at his mask covered face. She’s seen under it, a few times, and she definitely gets why he keeps himself completely covered. He’s hiding from the world and himself, because everyone is cruel. 

“I gotta call the boss man.”

“Why are ya a bodyguard, Jo?” He twisted his body against her so that his back was pressed to her front and his head was on her shoulder. “It’s so boring.”

“I care about him, so I don’t mind,” she shrugged. He rolled with the movement and then twisted around so that they were back-to-back, and his head moved to her other shoulder. 

“You call the people you care about?”

“I call you every Christmas, don’t I?” Uncle Wade made a loud awing noise, moved back to her front to kiss her on the forehead, and then head-butted her before strutting away. 

“Call the bossy!” She watched him get swallowed up by a drunk and laughing crowd, and he was crowd surfing a moment later. Jo laughed her way over to a corner where it was a little bit quieter, because the loud music echoed throughout the building. Oh well, it makes celebrating much easier. Calls not so much. 

“How may I help you tonight, Miss Jo?”

“JARVIS! Is Tony still up?”

“He has retired for the evening. Doctor Banner, however, is still awake.” Sneaky little AI; he probably has a recording of her and Tony’s conversations, like the one where she admitted her embarrassment about her first face-to-face meeting with the Doc. Whatever. She’s not embarrassed anymore. 

“Awesome! Can you patch me through, buddy?” There was a quiet click, and Jo hummed to herself as she jumped up onto a barrel. Her back was propped against the wall, and she had a perfect view of all the dancers. Who knew such big guys could get down? And it looks like Uncle Wade and Clint are having a Macarena-off. 

“Um, hello?”

“Hiya, Doc! What’s doin’?” Jo relaxed as Bruce relayed the day’s events, and she kept quiet except for a few hums here and there. Bruce looked at Darcy’s arm and declared it all healed, so Darcy doesn’t have to wear that itchy cast anymore. (Something about that tickled Jo’s mind, but she’s too drunk to properly focus right now. She’ll think on it later.) Natasha and Thor helped Darcy with some self-defense lessons, Steve cooked a delicious meatloaf and potatoes dinner for everyone, and Hulk sparred with Thor after dinner. Tony trained with Natasha and Steve some, and everyone went to bed after that. Except for the Doc. 

“That’s everything on this end. How are things there? It sounds very…loud.” Jo smiled and brought one leg up so she could rest her cheek on her knee. 

“I beat Roderick, but Camden kicked my ass. Then Clint won a fight against their bodyguard. Not like real fighting. It was like sparring but with a clear winner. Now we’re celebratin’. Deadpool hasn’t killed anyone, and the Sterling bros have their own liquor. Clint and I had a barrel drinking contest. I think I won.”

“You think?”

“I drank more, but I also fell off the barrel. I’m a little fuzzy on the rules,” Jo said with a throaty laugh. She was remembering Clint’s victory dance, which looked more like the chicken dance to her. 

“Maybe you two can call a tie?”

“That sounds fair. You’re the best, Doc.”

“And you are very drunk,” Bruce said with a quiet laugh of his own. 

“Hey, Doc?” Jo’s voice was quieter now, but Bruce could still hear her easily. He’s alone in his lab where the noise level is practically nonexistent, so she can talk a little quieter if she wants. 

“Yes, Jo?”

“I’m sorry I’ve been avoidin’ ya; it’s not very nice of me. I didn’t really mean to. There was healin’ to do and then Clint got us into that tango class, and you wouldn’t look at me that night, and now I’m here. I’ve been meanin’ to talk to ya, but I thought I was embarrassed because of the nakedness and green and heroes. I think I’m actually…I’m…” She sounded completely miserable, and her already slow drawl was slurred out in a whisper. 

“You’re what, Jo?” The Doc’s voice was so quiet and soft, and she felt like she could tell him anything. 

“I think I’m scared.” There. She’s finally said it. 

“Hulk is—”

“Don’t be stupid, Doc, I’m not scared of Hulk. I like him. I’d like a spar one day, if that’s cool with him. I think I’m scared of _you_.”

“Me? Why me?” Jo tried to organize her thoughts, but her head feels so fuzzy. This is something that she hasn’t even really admitted to herself; it’s been festering in the back of her mind behind a false wall labeled “embarrassment.” She scratched a hand through her hair and lightly bit the inside of her cheek as she tried to explain. 

“I panicked, with Tony. I don’t do panic, ever, so no one’s ever…I mean, Tony doesn’t remember and you weren’t actually there, but you were there. You heard me freakin’ the fuck out, and the mind thing. The _mind_ thing, Doc.”

“What about the mind thing?” Jo’s starting to sound a little panicked now, but he just had to ask. (He can’t remember anyone ever being afraid of him, just what he could turn into.)

“I hate the telepathy, Doc. I hate it so fuckin’ much; it drives me crazy. I’m not supposed to have it, it’s not right, you know? Not right. I didn’t want to learn how to use it, I still don’t most days. I hate talkin’ about it, I hate bein’ asked about it…I just hate it, okay? I use it on Tony all the time, normally with his insistence ‘cause he’s lazy, but Tony doesn’t scare me. He’s pretty fucked up too, so it’s easier with him. It’s just so easy with him. But you, Doc…I told you how it worked, how it felt, and you even fuckin’ helped with it. Helped me do somethin’ new and more. I don’t know if I went along with it for Tony or just because you were talkin’ to me, but it scared the shit outta me. I’m scared of it, Doc.”

“You don’t have to be scared of it, Jo, or me. I’d never ask you to do something you weren’t comfortable with, and I, uh, I’m a little scared of you too. We all have things that we’d like to keep buried, right?” There was a quiet laugh at the end, but Jo could hear the darkness in it even in her shitfaced state.

“Bruce, I would never—”

“No, I know that, I know. I think what I’m trying to say is that this is new to all of us and we’re all a little scared, but we’re still better off together. Aren’t we?” Jo lifted her face up and let her leg dangle over the edge again. For the moment, things in her world made sense again. Except for the part where Clint and Deadpool were waltzing with various members of an underground Scottish crime syndicate. That part is still a little off. 

“Yeah, we are. You really are a super genius, Doc.” His laughter was lighter this time, and the sound made Jo so happy that she swayed dangerously on her barrel. It definitely wasn’t because of that other barrel of homemade Scottish ale. Nope, just happiness. 

“Jo! Come dance with me!” Jo tipped her head to find the source of the voice, and she carefully maneuvered herself to stand on top of the barrel so she could point a menacing finger at the archer. 

“No chandelier tangoing without me!”

“You can tango on a chandelier?”

“Not alone.” Bruce’s snort of laughter carried through the phone, and Jo raised a different finger as Clint began dancing by himself. Come to think of it, why is there a chandelier here? The place looks like a warehouse. 

“Go tango on the chandelier before Clint hurts himself,” Bruce said with another low chuckle. 

“His face already looks like hamburger meat, it can’t get much worse. Still, when will I get another chance to do a chandelier tango? We’ll head out in the mornin’, and, Bruce?”

“Hmm?”

“Thanks, for everythin’. I’ll hate myself a little in the mornin’ for bein’ such a whiner, but I’m glad we had this talk. G’night, Doc!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't my longest chapter, but I think Deadpool makes up for it. Deadpool is one of my all-time favorite characters, because he's insane but he's also extremely layered. Also, if Wolverine is in the story, then Deadpool has to be too. He might not be a major character, but he'll get a mention every once in a while. 
> 
> Darcy is now cast-free, and Steve cooks in an apron. There was even some Bruce-Jo interaction! Which was really fun to write. Things are slowly moving along, and I would love to know people's thoughts!


	11. It's Done

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _i don't ever think about death_   
>  _it's alright if you do_   
>  _it's fine_   
>  **Glory and Gore by Lorde**   
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: there's some violence, some of it kinda graphic, but it all works out in the end

**July 30, 2014**

“My face has a heartbeat,” Clint groaned.

“You bare knuckle boxed a Scottish gangster. What did you think was going to happen?”

“Deadpool kept slipping me shots, so I wasn’t thinking anything.” Jo tried not to smile at her good friend’s pain, but it was kinda hard not to when Clint was full-out whining. Looks like mixing boxing and drinking was a bad idea; he’s hungover and looks like he went toe-to-toe with a wrecking ball. The two of them were walking down the sidewalk, getting closer to the mansion with every step, and people were giving them a wide berth. It might be because Clint and Jo are both still in their blood stained clothes, it might be because Clint’s face is just one giant bruise, or maybe it’s the calm chicken riding on Clint’s shoulder. 

“Seriously, dude, what’s with the chicken?” 

“Seriously, dude, I won her in a poker game. I named her Jade.” Clint’s eyes were hidden by a pair of dark sunglasses, and Jo couldn’t tell if he was blushing under the dark purple bruises. 

“You named your chicken?” Jo asked. Clint didn’t even turn his head to look at her. He just kept walking. With a chicken. On his shoulder. 

“She’s a beloved pet. Of course I named her.” Right, of course. Is this really her life?

“Why Jade?” This time Clint did look at her, and his sunglasses slipped down his nose just enough for her to see his bruised and swollen eyes. 

“For your pretty eyes.” Jo resisted the urge to hit him, because he looks like he’s in enough pain already. Later, when the bruises have healed, she’s kicking his ass for that line. Unless Natasha gets to him first. The mansion was completely silent when they walked inside, and they both paused in the foyer.

“JARVIS, is anybody home?” Jo asked. 

“Everyone is in the gym, Miss Jo. Hulk and Thor are having another sparring session.” Jo marched over to the elevator, with Clint on her heels. They were quiet on the elevator ride down, except for the quiet slap delivered to Jo’s hand when she tried to touch the chicken. Her and Clint spent the rest of the elevator ride glaring at each other. 

The first person Jo saw when she walked inside the gym was Tony, because he was talking. To Steve. She saw Natasha next, who was standing next to a chair that Darcy was sitting in. All four of them were in workout clothes, so Tony has been keeping up on his exercise routine. That’s good. He’s pretty much back to the way he was before the extra-long drinking binge, and he looks more like himself. Thor and Hulk were really battling it out, and Jo went speechless for a moment. Yeah, she sparred with Thor and thought she did okay, but the big guy must’ve been going easy on her. 

“Get ‘im, Hulk!” Jo called out as her and Clint stopped next to Tony. The yell must have startled the chicken, because Clint ran a soothing hand over her dark feathers. 

“Hey, you’re alive! What happened to your face?” Tony asked. 

“A fist,” Clint huffed. 

“You don’t look hurt.” Jo slung her arm around Tony’s shoulders and didn’t bother to comment. Tank, remember? Tony must be feeling a little slow. Clint walked off to join Natasha and Darcy, and Jo slumped against Tony’s side. Most of her injuries are healed, but she still feels a little sore and drained. Maybe she shouldn’t have played tackle football against Uncle Wade and the Scots. Ah, Uncle Wade…she tried to talk him into coming with her, but he said he was having way too much with the Scottish underground to leave. It’s probably for the best. 

“I guess things have been okay here?” Jo asked as Thor took a swing at Hulk. The big green guy ducked easily and brought a fist down on Thor’s head. 

“Just peachy. I finally finished—”

“Sir, Agent Hill is—”

“STARK!” The sound and movement in the room came to a stop, except for the agent’s echoing yell. The frazzled agent was leaning against the heavy door to the gym, and her loose hair was slicked to her face with blood. There were gouges in her uniform, and Jo could tell by the way she was holding herself that she had a broken rib. Maybe a couple. 

“What the—”

“Our telecommunications are down. Director Fury sent me here to get you. They’re attacking all over the city. The Fantastic Four can’t contain them; there’s too many.”

“Who are they?” Steve asked. 

“They called themselves the Zodiac.”

“Darcy, take Agent Hill to the infirmary. Avengers, suit up!” Everyone snapped to attention at the captain’s orders, and Jo watched as everyone moved to do what he said. Darcy moved over to Maria and helped her stand up, and her blue eyes were wide with…not quite fear, but close. 

“Jo, Clint, you need your comms. And I need my suit,” Tony said as they reached the elevator. Jo and Clint nodded, and Jo couldn’t help the sense of dread hanging heavy in her stomach. This isn’t going to end well.

**.xXx.**

“The Zodiac are in place,” Sinthea announced.

“They are good at causing destruction, are they not?” Thanos asked as he stepped away from the window. 

“They’re fabulous, whatever. Don’t we have another, more important, job to do?” Viper had one green tipped hand propped on her hip, and her long black hair was held behind her in a tight bun. It’s time to get to work. 

“Sinthea, Amora, you know what to do,” Thanos said with a pointed look at the two women. Sinthea gave a curt nod and held herself like a soldier, and a slow smile curled Amora’s full lips. 

“Of course. Sorry you can’t come with us, Ophelia.” Viper hates that name, and she just barely kept herself from attacking the sorceress. They have a job to do, and there’s no time for mistakes.

**.xXx.**

“Hawkeye, Widow, report!” Steve called. He was on the ground fighting off robots that seemed designed to target civilians, and he was already starting to feel a little worn down. For every bot he put down, two more rose up. Luckily, he’s got backup. The Invisible Woman, Susan Storm, was fighting beside him.

“We’ve cornered Gemini and Sagittarius! Fight still ongoing!” Steve could easily hear her through the new comm attached to his wrist and nodded his head before addressing the next member. 

“Thor?”

“I have engaged the ones called Leo and Aries!”

“Iron Man?”

“I’ve got Virgo!”

“Eris?”

“Capricorn and Libra!”

“Anyone have eyes on Hulk?”

“Hulk’s taking on Taurus and Scorpio, and Thing’s got Cancer! Johnny just took off after Aquarius with Pisces on his tail, and Richards is looking for the source of the bots!” Tony rattled off. 

“Don’t worry, Captain. Everything is under control,” Susan said with a gentle smile as she ripped another bot apart. 

“Then why does it feel like we’re missing something?”

**.xXx.**

It all happened so fast, and all at once. For a moment, they thought they were winning. For just a single moment, they all believed that it could be done. They were so wrong.

**.xXx.**

“Come on, ugly! Is that the best you got?!” Johnny yelled. The guy, Aquarius, gave him a slimy grin that would’ve given Johnny chills if he wasn’t on fire. The girl, Pisces, was surrounded by water and laughing.

 _“It’s done.”_ The voice drifted in the air around them, and his two opponents shared a look. Johnny was just about to ask who the hell that was when he got hit with a wave of water laced with electricity, and the last thing he saw was Aquarius’s slimy grin.

**.xXx.**

_“It’s done.”_ Ben looked at where the giant crab man had his arm caught between his pincers, and he took the moment of distraction to slam a rocky fist into the crab’s face. Cancer flew off of him, and a body slammed into his torso. The force of the hit knocked him backwards out into the street and when he looked up, Cancer was gone and an extinguished Johnny was unconscious on top of him.

**.xXx.**

_“It’s done.”_ Natasha barely had time to process the words before Gemini and his clone were on top of her. The two of them hit her in several places at once, and she couldn’t hold in her scream as both her legs folded under her. Her body flashed hot and cold before going numb, and she forced her eyes to open again. She caught sight of Gemini’s mad eyes before everything faded to black.

**.xXx.**

_“It’s done.”_

“Natasha!” His partner was on the ground and not moving, and he could see the unnatural way that her legs were bent from where he was standing. 

“You should pay attention to your own opponent!” Clint felt the flaming arrows sinking into his flesh, could feel his muscles tearing as his nerve endings were set on fire, but he couldn’t stop. He made it to Natasha’s side just as his body gave out.

**.xXx.**

_“It’s done.”_ Thor dodged another blast of fire from the giant ram’s horns, and the mighty lion’s claws raked against Thor’s face as he looked for the source of the other voice. A well timed kick from both of his opponents threw him into the street below, and he didn’t get to his feet as quickly as he normally would. When he looked up to the sky again, Leo and Aries were gone.

**.xXx.**

_“It’s done.”_ Hulk let a growl rumble out of his chest at the sound of the new voice and turned his snarl on Taurus. The woman, Scorpio, fired an energy blast at his back that distracted him just enough for Taurus to start charging. The giant minotaur’s horns hit the center of his chest, and Hulk flew back through the air. His back skidded across the concrete, and he heard a loud groan underneath him. A groan that wasn’t from an enemy.

**.xXx.**

_“It’s done.”_ Jo was caught up in Capricorn’s horns and watching Libra’s high powered sword get closer to her face when the whispered words cut through the air, and Capricorn suddenly let her go. She looked up into Libra’s blind eyes as she fell, and the woman smiled just as Jo’s feet hit the sidewalk. Before she could jump back up into the fight, something slammed into her side. She was forced to the ground under the onslaught and dragged across the ground, and she groaned once she finally came to a stop. The heavy weight on top of her lifted up, and she raised hazy eyes to see who’d just run into her like a freight train.

“Hey, big guy. Think you can give me a hand?” Hulk gently scooped her up and placed her on his shoulder, and Jo gratefully wrapped her right arm around his neck to hold on. Her left arm was completely shredded after being trapped under both her body and Hulk’s, and then dragged several feet across the concrete. It’ll take time to heal. 

“Okay?”

“Yeah, big guy, I’m—TONY!”

**.xXx.**

_“It’s done.”_

“Well, Stark, it was fun while it lasted.” Tony was getting ready to retort when he felt the pull on his suit, and his eyes went wide as he realized the suit was rapidly losing power. Virgo was siphoning it all, drawing it into herself, until there was nothing left. He was locked in his suit with no power, and she was hurtling him towards the ground. It was like his dream, but Jo isn’t here to sacrifice herself. Tony could hear Hulk’s echoing growls and earth shattering stomps, but he wasn’t going to make it. Not this time.

**.xXx.**

Steve and Susan both startled as the bots started self-destructing all around them, and they were standing in the middle of electrical parts when Reed joined them. Susan went straight to him, and they took a moment to assess each other’s injuries.

“Was this your doing?” Steve asked. Reed met his eyes and shook his head. Then…who?

“Clint?” No answer. “Natasha?” Nothing. “Tony?”

“Steve! Tony fell! He’s not responding! What do I do?” Jo’s panicked voice washed over the comm, and Steve could hear Hulk’s loud rumbling coming over her comm too. 

“I have found Clint and Natasha! They are both gravely injured!” Thor yelled. 

“Thor, you take Clint and Natasha. Jo, get Hulk and grab Tony. Go back to the mansion! Now!”

**.xXx.**

“Hey, how are you feeling?” Darcy asked. Maria used Darcy’s cell phone to call in some medical backup, but it’s just her and Maria for now. Darcy had grabbed a towel and held it against the largest bleeding hole on the agent’s stomach when they first made it to the little hospital, but she’ll feel better once someone with actual medical training shows up.

“I’m fine, thanks.” Darcy wasn’t going to point out that the woman was paler than the sheets she was lying on, except for all the blood. 

“Agent Hill, correct?” Darcy and Maria both looked over, and there was a woman standing in the doorway. She was wearing a white lab coat and her black hair was put up, so she looked like a doctor, but something didn’t feel right. Maria was suddenly on her feet with a gun drawn before Darcy could blink, and the agent easily maneuvered her body in front of Darcy’s. 

“Are you one of the Zodiac?” The woman smiled, and her pale green eyes seemed to shine. She’s got a gun pointed to her head, so why isn’t she freaking out?

“Not exactly.” The woman took a step forward, and Maria raised the gun a little. Darcy has got to hand it to the agent; she’s completely calm, and it’s hard to tell that she’s got a broken rib and has lost more than enough blood to keep her down. 

“What is your business here?” Maria asked. The woman smiled again, and Darcy felt cold. 

“It’s not with you.” The woman moved so fast that Darcy couldn’t track it; one minute they were facing each other down, and the next Maria was flying through the air. The agent’s head smacked against a counter, and she didn’t move after hitting the ground. Darcy tried to run to her, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. The unknown woman’s other hand plunged into her stomach, and Darcy was so stunned by the pain that she couldn’t even scream. 

“What are you—” The woman twisted her wrist, and Darcy screamed as her insides were moved around. The pain was incredible, and she reached up to grab onto the woman’s lab coat. Pale green eyes looked down into hers, and the woman’s full lips were curved in a smile. 

“Tell your daddy I said hello.” The woman ripped her hand out of Darcy’s stomach, and her knees hit the floor. She immediately moved her hands to the hole in her stomach, but there’s so much blood. She can’t be bleeding this much; she’ll die. She can’t die now. She’s got Tony, and Jo, and Thor, and there are people here who like her and care about her and she has a family and she can’t she can’t she can’t…

“I…wha…why?”

“See you later, Darcy.” The gun was pointed straight at her, and Darcy squeezed her eyes shut. The echoing sound of the shot was still ringing in her ears when everything suddenly went black.

**.xXx.**

Bruce returned to complete chaos. He’d left clothes in one of the chairs in the foyer, and Hulk retreated as soon as they were inside the mansion. Jo was still holding Tony, in his suit, over her right shoulder as he rushed to pull on pants and a shirt. He’d just pulled the shirt over his head when Thor and Steve came in, and they each had an assassin over their shoulder.

“Downstairs. Now.” Tony’s medical facilities were about the size of a small hospital floor, and there were ten different rooms. He directed Thor into one room for Natasha, and Steve into the one next to it for Clint. Jo and Tony were sent to the same room, because he knew he wasn’t going to be able to separate them. Tony is his most pressing concern, so he needs Thor and Steve to stay with the assassins until he can get Tony stabilized. (Assuming the billionaire is still alive but he can’t think that way.)

“Steve, I need you to—”

“Captain!” The three standing Avengers turned as one, and Maria slumped against the doorway to another room. Fresh blood made her face slick, and where’s Darcy?

“Agent Hill?” She lowered her gun and lifted her eyes. 

“There was a woman. She looked like a doctor, but she wasn’t. I tried to stop her, but I wasn’t strong enough.” Bruce stumbled a little as Thor literally pushed past him, and Maria looked down at the floor as Thor pushed past her as well. A moment later, the god’s loud cry shook the walls around them. He was screaming Darcy’s name. When Steve and Bruce both made it inside, Bruce wished he hadn’t. 

“I’m sorry,” Maria whispered. Thor was leaning against the cabinets, and his eyes looked dead as he held the still body across his lap. Darcy’s tee shirt was ripped and stained red, and there was a single bullet hole in the center of her head. Thor had her body gathered in his arms and held close to him, and he was crying silently as he rocked the body back and forth. 

“Steve, take Maria to another room. I have to check on Tony before the others,” Bruce said quietly. 

“I called in medical services. They should be here soon,” Maria said as Steve reached her side. Bruce nodded so that she’d know he heard her, and he had to force himself to look away from Thor’s broken eyes and Darcy’s body. He needs to save Tony. (If he can.)

When he got to Tony’s room, Tony was out of the suit and Jo was whispering to him. The suit was lying in the corner in pieces, so Jo must have ripped it off of him piece by piece. The arc reactor was still shining, but Tony wasn’t reacting to anything. It didn’t even look like he was breathing, and Jo looked like she was on the verge of a breakdown. She looked up when he entered, and her dark green eyes looked like Thor’s. 

“He’s not…I don’t think he’s breathing, Doc. What do we do? I can’t lose him. I can’t.” Jo was steadily crying and running her bloody fingers through Tony’s hair.

“There might be something.” Jo’s eyes narrowed, and Bruce thought back to a couple of days ago. It was right after his first sparring session with Thor and before Tony went to bed. Tony was worried, said something just didn’t feel right with Jo gone, and he’d asked Bruce for a favor. Bruce just didn’t think he’d be making good on it so soon. 

“Whatever it is, do it.”

“Is he still alive?” If Tony’s already dead, it won’t work. (He’s not going to think about Darcy’s still body. He’s not.)

“I can still hear him, but it’s getting quieter. Hurry, Doc.” Bruce rushed from the room, didn’t think about the people in the other rooms, and rode the elevator straight up to the lab. He went to the back of Tony’s lab, entered a pin into a safe and gave up some of his radioactive blood, and moved through the few things that Tony kept locked away. 

Container E98736. Tony said it was in case of emergencies and only then. It was untested and probably unsafe, but Tony isn’t going to make it. He fell from nearly a hundred feet in the air in a powerless suit. Nearly every bone is broken, but the internal damage alone is enough to kill him. He should already be dead, but the genius is too stubborn to give up that easily. Bruce has to hurry though. If he doesn’t, it’ll be too late. The elevator stopped on the first floor, and several wide-eyed doctors and nurses stepped on. Bruce waited for the doors to close before saying anything. 

“If any of you are not who you say you are, Hulk will kill you before you can reach the door. Understood?” They all nodded, and Bruce led them to the medical facilities. He directed them to Natasha, Clint, and Maria’s rooms, and he told them not to enter Tony’s room or the room that Thor was in under any circumstances. He’ll take care of Tony first and then they’ll deal with Thor. (With Darcy.)

“What is that?” Jo asked as he stepped back into the room. He clicked the lock before walking over, and Jo was holding herself protectively over the flickering light of the arc reactor. Tony’s heart is trying to stop. She must have seen enough of his thoughts to get the answer, because her eyes widened. 

“Extremis or death,” he whispered. That was good enough for her, because she straightened up and nodded at him. 

“Hold his arm out for me.” Jo extended Tony’s left arm as gently as she could, and the hardened bodyguard winced at the movement of all the broken bones. The needle moved in slowly, and Jo caught Bruce’s eyes as the Extremis entered Tony’s system. Bruce moved away as soon as the needle was out, and Jo leaned down to watch Tony’s face. 

“I can’t hear him. Why can’t I hear him?” Jo looked up at him, but Bruce didn’t know how to answer. What if he was too late? Bright red started streaking through Tony’s veins, so his heart is still pumping. Jo looked like she was about to panic when Tony’s broken hand reached out to grab hers, and the grip had to be bruising. Jo’s fingers were turning colors. Jo softy called Tony’s name, and bright red eyes suddenly met hers. Bruce moved forward to get a better look, and Tony’s bright red eyes flicked over to him before turning to Jo. 

“Jo, I—” Tony didn’t really scream. The only word that Bruce could think of to describe the sound was a yowl, like a dying animal fighting to survive. Tony’s entire body was lit up with that bright red light, and Bruce watched as the bones in Jo’s hands broke and splintered through her skin at Tony’s tight grip. Bruce moved around to where she was standing, but she wouldn’t look away from Tony. 

“Let go, Jo.” Bruce’s hands lightly pressed against her shoulders as he spoke into her ear, and he felt her press back against him.

“Not happenin’, Doc.” He could barely hear her rough voice over the sound of Tony’s pained yelling, and he lightly squeezed her shoulders before stepping away again. The red bled out of Tony’s eyes as his grip loosened just the tiniest fraction and the yelling died out.

“Jo?”

“How you feelin’, boss?” Tony glanced down at his body, looked at the mess of Jo’s hand, and then met her eyes. 

“I’m alive.” He sounded surprised, and Bruce felt about the same. He was worried for a moment that it wasn’t going to work. Tony turned his head, and Bruce looked down into brown eyes. “You used the Extremis.”

“You were almost dead.” 

“Thank you, Bruce.” He’s never heard Tony sound so sincere, and it’s a little humbling. Bruce just did what Tony asked him to do. 

“Yeah, thanks, Doc. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you weren’t here,” Jo said in a hoarse whisper. They both look so happy and relieved, because they don’t know about Darcy. And he has to tell them.

**.xXx.**

Darcy groaned as she returned to consciousness, but she could barely hear it over the sound of loud sobbing in her ear. Strong arms were crossed behind her back and holding her against a shaking body, and she could barely breathe because of the tight hold. Blonde hair was tickling against her nose and forehead, so this has to Thor. Why is Thor holding her so tight and crying? It’s not like she’s dead. Wait…she should be dead! That woman put a hole in her stomach and shot her in the head! She can still remember how it felt to have a bullet tearing through her brain and exploding out of the back of her skull. So how is she alive?

“Thor? Thor! I can’t breathe!” She was pulled back, and she looked up into Thor’s tear soaked face. The big guy looks like he’s been crying for weeks. 

“Darcy?”

“Hey, big guy.” She tried to smile, but she has got the mother of all headaches. Is this how Jo feels when Natasha shoots her in the head? If so, she’s got a new respect for the woman. 

“Darcy!” Thor hugged her to him again, and Darcy tried to take stock of everything. Thor is sitting on the floor in one of the hospital rooms, and she’s in his lap. This must be the room that she was in with Maria when that other woman came in, but there’s no one else in here as far as she can tell. 

“Darcy!” Why does everyone keep yelling her name? Thor loosened his hold, and Darcy turned enough that she could face the rest of the room. Jo was standing in the middle of the room, with Tony right next to her and Bruce standing to the side. Jo and Tony were both covered in blood, and Bruce was looking a little pale. 

“Darcy is alive!” Thor announced. 

“You said she was dead.” Jo looked over at Bruce, who was still looking at Darcy. 

“She was. Her stomach was ripped open, and she was shot in the head.” Jo pulled her right hand out of Tony’s and knelt down in front of her, and Darcy realized that Jo’s left arm was missing a lot of skin. She could see raw muscle knitting itself back together. 

“What happened, Darcy?” As Darcy explained what happened, Jo lifted her shirt and swiped her hand across the dried blood on Darcy’s stomach. Clean skin. There’s not even a scar. It’s like nothing even happened. 

“This doesn’t make sense,” Bruce said as Jo stood up. Thor stood up as well, taking Darcy with him, and gently sat her on her feet. 

“It’s definitely Darcy though, and it happened just like she said.” Jo moved back to Tony’s side and took his hand in hers, and Tony was being oddly quiet. 

“You are well, Tony?” Thor asked with a skeptical look. 

“We’ll talk about it later,” he said with a small smile. 

“Where’s Maria? And the others?” Darcy asked. 

“Being treated,” Bruce said as he looked at her. She gets why everyone is freaked out by her being alive, because she’s a little freaked out too. 

“We need to talk about what happened. Soon,” Tony said and looked over at Bruce. The doctor nodded and then slowly rubbed the bridge of his nose. 

“For now, we need to rest. Give it a few days. Thor, take Darcy to her room and stay with her in case something else happens. Jo, Tony, go rest and watch after each other. I’ll check on the others and keep all of you updated. Once everyone is conscious, we’ll talk.” Huh, that’s the most that Darcy has ever heard Bruce say. Then again, Bruce is the least beaten up of them all. Before Darcy and Thor reached the door, Jo jumped forward and wrapped her good arm around Darcy’s shoulders. A moment later, Tony wrapped both arms around her. Jo was pressed against her front and Tony was against her back, and she could see Thor smiling down at them all. 

“I’m really glad you’re not dead, Darcy,” Jo whispered. 

“Me too, kid,” Tony added. 

“Thanks, Mom. Now take Dad up to bed before he falls over,” Darcy said as they pulled back. They each smacked a kiss against one of her cheeks, and Darcy smiled at both of them. Her body is still sore and aching, but she’s alive. That’s really all that matters. 

“She’s all yours, Thor,” Tony said and gave the big guy a pat on the shoulder as he walked past. Jo had her arm across Tony’s back and his arm was over her shoulder, and they seemed to slump against each other as they moved off towards the elevator. 

“I’m really glad you’re not dead too, Darcy.” Bruce smiled, just for a second, and moved off to another hospital room. 

“Come, Darcy. We should rest.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.” When Thor swept her up into his arms, she didn’t even put up a pretend protest like she normally would. She just wrapped her arms around his neck and held on.

**.xXx.**

Jo stepped out of Tony’s bathroom, wearing nothing but one of his tee shirts and a pair of his silky boxers, and lightly prodded at her left arm. She didn’t even realize that it’d been completely skinned until after Tony was okay, or that her ankle was broken when Capricorn dropped her. She’s mostly healed now, but her left arm is still a little sensitive. She had to regrow a little muscle.

“Feeling okay, sweetheart?” Jo looked away from her arm to see Tony sitting on the edge of his bed. He’s just wearing a pair of loose pajama pants, and he looks…just as flawless as always. The arc reactor is shining bright, and there isn’t a scratch on him. No bruises. No broken bones. No internal bleeding. 

“Are you feeling okay?” Tony smiled, and it made his eyes crinkle. 

“Like a billion bucks. C’mere,” Tony said and held out a hand. Jo walked over to stand right in front of him, and she slipped her hand into his. Warm. Strong. Rough. Alive. 

“You idiot!” She slapped him with her left hand, which pulled at her newly formed muscles, and then immediately hugged him to her. His face was pressed against her stomach, they were still holding hands, and their free hands moved over each other. Jo gripped his hair and he gripped her hip. 

“That worried, huh?” He pulled back from her, and Jo looked down into his dark brown eyes. 

“You stopped breathing a few times. I thought I was going to lose you, and I can’t…” She’s crying again. “I can’t lose you. Not now. Not ever.”

“I’m alive,” Tony said quietly as he stood up. The arc reactor pushed against her chest, and Tony let go of her hand so that he could cradle her face between his palms. 

“You almost weren’t,” she pointed out. 

“Do you love me?” What kind of question is that?

“Like I’ve never loved anyone else,” was her answer. She saw Tony smile and then he was kissing her. Actually kissing her. It was soft, a gentle push and pull against her lips, and Jo sighed as she reached up to grab his shoulders. Tony pulled away a moment later and rested his forehead against hers. 

“Anything?”

“Nope. You?”

“Nada.” They both laughed as they held onto each other, and Jo felt a little ridiculous. They all just had a near death experience, but Tony kissed her and now they’re laughing about it. She could feel Tony’s mind on the edge of hers, and she listened to the conversation that he had with Darcy a few days ago. 

“Who said true love doesn’t apply to friends?” Jo whispered. Tony raised his head up and pressed a kiss against the top of her head, and Jo wrapped her arms around his back as she rested against him. It’s so good to feel him breathing against her; to feel his warmth and know that he’s alive. 

“So you’re not mad at me for kissing you?”

“Not even a little. At least now we know that we’re meant to just be…us.” Tony’s arms were wrapped tight around her shoulders, and she’s starting to feel a little better. JARVIS informed them that Clint, Natasha, and Maria are all stable, so everything is okay for now. 

“Mhmm. Bed time?” Jo leaned back enough to look at him and smiled. 

“Definitely.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's start with the bad guys, hmm? Feel free to Google them, because they are all real. I didn't create them. Sinthea is Red Skull's daughter, Viper/Ophelia works with HYDRA and really hates (loves?) Wolverine, and Amora is an Enchantress from Asgard. I'll mix things up a little to make things work with this story, but they are from the actual comics. The Zodiac are from the comics too, but there's several different versions of the teams so I kind of mixed them all together. That's the fun part about being a writer, right?
> 
> The Fantastic Four can also be Googled, but here's a quick little rundown. They went to space, a thing happened, and they got superpowers. Reed Richards is Mr. Fantastic, and he's super stretchy. Also a genius. Susan Storm is the Invisible Woman (goes invisible) and is married to Reed. Johnny Storm is the Human Torch, and he does the really cool thing where he sets himself on fire. (Has a strong resemblance to the Cap'n for some odd reason.) Last, Ben Grimm is the Thing. Big rocky dude, and my personal favorite.
> 
> No one died! Well, no one died permanently. So much happened in this chapter, and I'm not sure what all to address. Okay, so, Darcy isn't dead. That will be explained later. As for Thor, I do not think that he's a giant crybaby. However, I do think that he's been through a lot lately. His mother dying but not really, his brother dying but not really, Odin being Odin, Jane leaving him...Darcy is a bright spot in a dark world and seeing her dead was like a breaking point. That's why he cried so much. Tony is alive and kicking, but we all know that miracle cures come with consequences. I promise everything will be explained eventually. 
> 
> TLDR; If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!


	12. Meeting Adjourned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _I can do it_   
>  _I can do it_   
>  _I'll get through it_   
>  _..._   
>  _I'm only human_   
>  _I'm only human_   
>  _Just a little human_   
>  **Human by Christina Perri**   
> 

**July 31, 2014**

For a moment, Jo thought it was the sound of Tony’s voice that woke her up. Which it kinda was. It was actually his thoughts that woke her up, but she was still a little fuzzy as she tried to wake up fully. The silk sheets under her felt amazing as she stretched a little, and Tony was in his favorite resting place. She was spread out on her back, like usual, and Tony was between her legs with his head pillowed on her chest. Since he was on his back, her hands were crossed over the arc reactor and holding him to her. Jo could hear three distinct voices, sometimes all at once, and they were all inside Tony’s head. There’s no phone in sight, but it’s clearly a phone call. Inside Tony’s head.

“How is that even possible?” Jo murmured. It is way too early for any of this to be happening. Can’t they just go back to sleep and deal with all this weirdness next week or something?

“Richards, I gotta go.”

“—we could probably stabilize…go?”

“Yes, as in I’m hanging up. Give me some hours, and I’ll call you back. JARVIS will keep you updated.” There was a click, _inside of Tony’s head_ , and then it was just Tony in there. 

“One more time, how is that even possible?” Jo plunged her hands into Tony’s wild hair and felt her knuckles twinge. She’s still healing a little then. 

“I modified the Extremis, stabilized it. I told Bruce about it, just in case there was an emergency, and it looks like I made the right call. It’s no Cap-in-a-bottle, but it’s an enhancer. I guess it enhanced the best part of me.” Tony’s tone was flippant, like always, and Jo’s whole body shivered. 

“Fuck, Tony, you were almost dead. You might still die, because don’t think that I didn’t pick up on that untested part drifting through your genius brain. Natasha and Clint both had really close calls and are still critical, and Darcy was dead. I could have lost all of you.” Jo’s whole body was shaking now, and Tony twisted around so that he could get his arms around her. He wound up with his back against the headboard and his bodyguard draped across his lap, and he had his face pressed against the side of her neck. Her strong pulse was beating against his stubbled cheek while she sobbed silently into his hair. 

“We’re all alive,” he whispered. If she didn’t stop crying, he might be on the verge of a crying breakdown. Jo knows that she can’t handle watching him cry right now, so she pulled back and used the shirt that she was wearing to wipe her face. 

“Oh, fuck you, you asshole. I’ve known you all of six months and here I am, having a total meltdown because you _almost_ died. I’ve killed people I’ve known longer than you. So, fuck you, Tony, and don’t you ever fuckin’ almost die on me again or I’ll fuckin’ kill you myself.”

“Love you too, sweetheart.”

“I hate you so much.” Jo rested against him for another few minutes, until she’d completely calmed down, and then she moved them around again. When she was done, she was leaning back against a mound of pillows and Tony was lying next to her instead of between her legs. He was using her stomach as a pillow, and she was running her fingers through his hair. 

“Have you thought about Darcy?” She picked up on some thoughts and realized that they were thinking about the same thing. 

“I saw the way that the mugger broke her arm. There’s no way a break like that could heal in just three weeks,” Jo said after a moment. 

“Then there’s the whole dying thing. I checked the footage, and there’s no way she could have survived that.” Tony replayed the video for her, inside his head, and Jo had to bite her lip as she watched. She wasn’t sure if she was angry, sad, or needed to go puke. Darcy never should have gone through that. 

“That’s Viper, the bitch. I should’ve killed her when I had the chance.” Jo’s rough voice was all growl, and Tony rubbed comforting circles against her arm. 

“She mentioned Darcy’s father.” Darcy was raised in foster homes, and there’s no record of who her parents are. She doesn’t even know the name of her mother because there’s nothing on her birth certificate. 

“You think that she’s…like me?” Tony looked up at her as Jo twirled some hair around her finger, and she sighed at the pointed look. 

“It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“It’s not making any sense to me. I knew I was a mutant from the very beginning. I’ve always been stronger than average, and I’ve always been able to heal. Always. Darcy has never exhibited any nonhuman abilities. Her black eye healed at an average rate.”

“Maybe it only kicks in for the big stuff?” Tony asked. Jo shook her head, but this is the only theory that makes sense. 

“You’ll have to ask if you can draw some blood, check her DNA. If she’s a mutant, you’ll be able to tell.” There’s also the question of Darcy’s father; what does Viper know that they don’t?

“I can do that.”

“Why were you talking to Richards?” From what she’s picked up on, those two don’t get along. Probably because Tony tends to act like an asshole around the majority of the population. 

“The city got really torn up during our big fight. We’re trying to make the cleanup and rebuild a little easier.” Oh, so he’s working on something good. That’s…good. 

“I can’t believe that I’m even asking this, but is there any way that you can give Clint and Natasha something to help them out? Maybe Maria too?” She listened in as Tony’s thoughts spun all over the place, and his mind was running so fast that she only picked up on a few words. 

“I have been working on something to expedite healing, but it’s still completely untested. I don’t know if it’ll work, if it’ll kill them, or what the side effects might be.” According to his thoughts, Tony’s been working with some companies to get this tested and then to start mass producing it. He wants to give it to hospitals for free. To be such an asshole, he really is a saint. 

“You heard JARVIS last night. The internal damage alone is about to kill them, Tony. Who knows how long Clint and Natasha can hold on? And what if we get attacked again?”

“Okay, okay! I’ll try it and see what happens, after I get a little blood from Darcy. Deal?”

“Deal.”

**.xXx.**

Darcy stepped into Maria’s hospital room with Thor right behind her, and the agent gave her a shaky smile. Steve was sitting in a chair at the agent’s bedside, and his smile was a little firmer. He looked okay, especially compared to Clint and Natasha. Darcy looked in on them first, but they were both unconscious. It’s probably kinder to keep them under. They’re both so banged up, and Bruce kept wringing his hands as he went over their long list of injuries. Broken bones, internal bleeding, and so much more that she didn’t understand but translated into _very bad_.

“How are you feeling?”

“Three broken ribs, a concussion, and a total of forty-eight stitches. I’ve had worse, but Captain Rogers keeps waking me up to ask if I know when my birthday is,” Maria said in a quiet voice. 

“And it is?” Steve asked with a pointed look. Darcy looked on as Maria glared up at the Captain, which is something that most people just can’t do. Not even Natasha has managed to glare at him yet. 

“April third. I’m expecting something big from you, Rogers.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Darcy thought it was almost cute as Steve smiled and Maria glared. “We’ll give you two a minute.”

“Thanks,” Darcy whispered as Steve moved past her. He took Thor with him, and Darcy moved over to the empty chair. 

“I heard what happened, and I almost didn’t believe it. Darcy, I am so sorry—” Maria stopped talking when Darcy grabbed her hand, and she tried to hold back her tears. She cried enough last night after Thor carried her to her room; the big guy just rocked her and let her get it all out, but she’s still feeling…raw. 

“I want to say thank you. You shouldn’t have even been able to move in your condition, but you protected me anyway.”

“I didn’t do a very good job.” The woman’s lips were pinched into a thin line, and Darcy squeezed her hand a little. 

“I’m still alive.” Maria’s blue eyes met hers, and Darcy already knew what she was going to ask. 

“How are you still alive?” Darcy looked down, and she saw the crook of her elbow. There’s nothing there. No tiny hole. No little bruise. There should be. 

“I don’t know; no one does. Tony took some blood before I came down here, and he’s going to try to figure it out,” she shrugged. Jo and Tony both had an idea, she could see it in their eyes, but they weren’t talking. Not about that at least. Instead they just took turns hugging her and telling her that she was the favorite; she had to remind them that she was their only child, which just made them both smile. 

“Sorry to interrupt,” Steve started. Darcy and Maria both looked at him, and Steve flicked his eyes down before continuing. “We’re going to have a quick team meeting. All of us.”

**.xXx.**

“Doc!” Bruce froze at the sound of the rough yell, and he caught a flash of green eyes and pink lips right before arms locked around his neck. He rocked back on his heels and wrapped his arms around Jo’s waist to steady them, and he could hear Jo’s quick breathing in his ear.

“Jo?” She tightened her arms for a brief moment and pulled back a little, but she kept her arms around his shoulders. 

“I just, I wanted to say thank you. For saving Tony. For helping Clint and Natasha. For everything.” He could feel her fingers curling around the hair at the nape of his neck, and she was smiling at him. There was a dimple in her left cheek. 

“Am I interrupting something?” Tony’s voice sounded amused, and Bruce looked to the side to see him smiling at the two of them. Bruce would have stepped away, but Jo was still holding onto him and idly playing with his hair. Does she even realize that she’s doing it?

“I’m just thanking the Doc for being so awesome. You should thank him too,” Jo said and lightly scratched a nail against his scalp. 

“I think I’ll leave the thanking to you, sweetheart, but make it a quickie. We’ve got a meeting, remember?” Tony sauntered off, like he didn’t just almost die, and Jo rolled her eyes before looking back at him. Shouldn’t she step away from him now?

“He can be so vulgar sometimes. Like I’d let our first time happen in a hospital hallway? We’re way too classy for that,” Jo said with a grin. She pulled away from him and started walking after Tony, until she realized that he wasn’t walking beside her. She looked over her shoulder at him, and Bruce didn’t know what to think. It was colder without her standing against him. “Coming, Bruce?”

“Hmm? Oh, uh, yeah. Yes. What kind of meeting are we having?” Jo grinned at him once he caught up, and she looped her arm through his when he was close enough. Bruce startled a little at the touch, and Jo’s smile gentled but she didn’t let go. She’s wearing black shorts that show off her long legs and a white AC/DC shirt that has to be Tony’s, and she smells like…oranges. 

“It will all be explained, at the meeting. We decided that it was better if everyone has a say-so, but Tony really wants your opinion. ‘Cause you’re the Doc.”

“How’s he doing? With the Extremis?” Jo’s smile slowly slipped away, and he watched the way that her cheek twitched. Like she was biting the inside of it. 

“So far so good, but we’re both keeping our eyes out for any side effects. We’ll talk about that at the next team meeting,” Jo said as they got closer to the others. He could see Tony talking to Steve, and Thor was listening intently. 

“You weren’t joking when you said that Tony liked team meetings.” Jo’s smile lit her eyes up, and he felt like stepping away from her. It’s strange to have a smile that bright directed at him. Because of him. 

“Tony loves talking about himself. C’mon, Doc, things are about to get real interesting.”

**.xXx.**

She let Bruce go once they reached the others, but she had to force herself to do it. The Doc was so solid and warm that she never wanted to let him go, which was a little strange. Yeah, she likes the Doc, but she had no idea that hugging him would feel so good. Especially with everything that’s going on. She’s felt jittery and on edge since her and Tony stepped out of his bedroom this morning, but she felt calm the moment that she held onto Bruce. Just one of those random little things.

“Done already?” Tony whispered once she got to his side. She lightly elbowed him in the ribs, but he just smiled at her. Steve pulled his head out of Maria’s room and nodded, and they all walked inside. Darcy was sitting next to Maria’s bed, and Jo smiled at her as they fanned out. Steve stood on the opposite side of Maria’s bed, and Thor went to stand directly behind Darcy. Tony stood at the foot of the bed, with Jo and Bruce on either side of him. 

“You want both of us here?” Darcy asked. 

“You’re part of the team, kid.”

“But I’m not,” Maria pointed out. She’s a SHIELD agent, not an Avenger. Then again, Darcy and Jo aren’t Avengers either. 

“No, but this affects you too.” Jo kept quiet as Tony explained the healing accelerant that he’s been working on, and he didn’t hold anything back. He told them that it was untested and that there was no way of knowing how things would turn out, and Jo watched everyone’s faces as they listened. 

“What kind of chances do Natasha and Clint have, Bruce?” Steve asked once Tony was done. Jo watched the way that Bruce wrung his hands, but that’s not what he’s doing. He’s subtly checking his pulse. Over and over. 

“Chances of survival are low, but they’re both stable right now. If they both pull through, it’s the recovery that I’m worried about,” Bruce said quietly. 

“Recovery?” Darcy asked. Thor braced a hand against her shoulder, and Darcy reached up to hold it. 

“Both of Natasha’s legs were severely broken in several different places. She’ll need to have surgery to fully repair the bone damage, but she’ll never walk the same again. One of her kidneys is about to fail; we’re going in to remove it this afternoon. A doctor has already performed surgery to repair Clint’s heart, but he’s still in danger of heart failure. A broken rib punctured one of his lungs. He has burns covering the majority of his back, so we’ll have to start skin grafts once he’s strong enough.”

“They’ll never fight again,” Maria said once Bruce was through. They’ll be vulnerable, and they’ve made a lot of enemies over the years. Jo and the others can keep them safe, but…Natasha and Clint are agents. It’s not just a job to them. It’s who they are. 

“They will never truly heal,” Thor said in a quiet voice. Steve looked around the room at all of them and then settled his eyes on Tony. 

“Give it to them. We have to try,” Steve said. When no one said anything different, Tony nodded and looked at Maria. 

“You want some?” he asked. Maria quirked a brow, which just made Tony shrug. 

“The concussion will fade, the broken ribs will heal, and the stitches will come out. I’ll be just as good as new.”

“Okay. Let me know if you change your mind.” Maria nodded, and Tony clapped his hands to make sure that he had everyone’s attention. “Fury will be here in a few hours, and we are all going to sit down and figure out what the hell happened. I am going to see if I can get Clint and Natasha up and moving, and I will be going by myself. Bye.”

“Keep us updated,” Steve said as he reached for the door. Tony saluted and kept walking, and Jo rubbed at her temples. Okay, that’s one thing taken care of. 

“Jo? Has Tony had any time to look at the blood I gave him?” Jo blinked once and then looked over at Darcy, who was looking at her like she was on the verge of becoming a mind reader. Her eyes were piercing through Jo, and Jo is not the world’s best liar. There’s a reason that her only jobs for SHIELD were beating people up. 

“Not yet, but he’s running some kind of analysis thing on it.”

“Any theories?” Darcy is definitely trying to read her mind, and her and Tony made the decision not to tell Darcy anything until it was proven. 

“Well, you see, about that—”

“Dr. Banner, Miss Jo, your presence is being requested in Agent Barton’s room.” Saved by JARVIS! She owes that AI so much. Darcy gave her a little glare as she shrugged, and she followed Bruce out of the room. Jo was the first one into Clint’s room, and she froze at the sight that greeted her. 

“A little help please!” Tony yelled out. Clint was thrashing and yelling on the bed, and Tony was struggling to keep him still. Bruce moved around her and pinned the archer’s arms down, and Jo sprang into action. She used the hospital sheets to tie his legs down, and she braced her arms against his stomach to push him against the bed. 

“This is so not good,” Jo mumbled and pushed against Clint’s stomach as he jerked. 

“Josie?” Clint managed to ask through a scream of pain. It made Jo wince, and she twisted her back so that she could press her cheek against his thundering heart. His stitches have popped and blood is starting to seep through the thin hospital gown. 

“I’m here, Clint, with Tony and Bruce. You’re going to be okay,” Jo said quickly. 

“Clint? What are you feeling?” Tony asked and got really close to his face. 

“Pain!”

“He’s conscious, so that’s something. Clint, is anything changing?” Bruce asked. Clint clenched his eyes shut as his body spasmed again, and Jo and Bruce both shook with the movement. 

“My back…it’s itchy,” he groaned. 

“We need to get him up so we can see,” Tony said. Jo and Bruce exchanged a look, and they moved quickly once a decision was made. Well, Bruce made a decision and Jo was able to hear it. Before Clint could have another massive convulsion, Bruce hefted him up into a sitting position and Jo pinned his arms between their bodies. Clint yelped at the movement and bucked against her, but Jo just held on a little harder. Tony and Bruce made quick work of the ties holding the hospital gown together, and Jo peered over Clint’s shoulder to get a look at his back. 

“It’s healing,” Bruce said with a small amount of wonder. Clint screamed again, which went against the statement. 

“But it looks like it’s killing him,” Jo countered. Clint twisted and tried to get away, and she listened as the sheets ripped. A knee connected with her spine, and Jo groaned at the hard hit. 

“C’mon, Clint, you can fight this and hold on. This stuff is going to heal you, and you’ll be just fine,” Jo whispered. 

“What the hell?!” Jo closed her eyes at the sound of Darcy’s voice, and Clint struggled against her. She can’t hold him on her own. Jo’s stronger, but she doesn’t want to hurt him. 

“Darcy, you need to—”

“Is it working?” Darcy asked, completely cutting Tony off. 

“We think so. The burns on his back are starting to heal,” Bruce explained. Jo’s body tensed up as Clint bit into her shoulder, and she felt her skin breaking as he screamed and jerked. His arms broke free, but he just wrapped them around her and rode out the tremor. His grip was bruising, but Jo will be just fine. 

“Shh, Clint, it’s okay. You’re almost done,” Darcy whispered. Jo forced her eyes to open, and she watched the way that Darcy gently combed her fingers through Clint’s hair. Darcy must have felt her looking, because she met her eyes and shrugged. “What? It works when you do it for Tony.”

“Good point.” Clint continued to shake, but he released Jo’s shoulder after a few minutes and started moving his head back into Darcy’s fingers. 

Nearly an hour later, most of Jo was completely numb and Darcy was sitting on the bed instead of standing next to it. Clint was slumped forward against Jo and completely still, but Darcy was still lightly petting his hair and humming quietly. Tony and Bruce were sitting down, just watching, and everyone let out a relieved breath when Clint finally went still. His back was healed, somewhat. She watched as the burns scabbed and faded, until pale scars were left behind. There’s still evidence of what happened, but it looks like something that happened over a decade ago. 

“I’ll get a doctor to check his lung and heart,” Bruce said quietly. 

“You girls ready to take on Natasha?” Tony asked. Jo and Darcy groaned together, and Clint huffed out a breath against Jo’s shoulder. “Right. I’ll go ask Thor and Cap. You two should rest.”

“Great idea, boss.”

“Wonderful idea, daddy-o.” Jo gently laid Clint back onto the bed, and the bed was thankfully large enough that Jo and Darcy could lay down on either side of him. They were both asleep before Tony closed the door behind him.

**.xXx.**

Since they never managed to re-tie Clint’s gown, it’d slipped off completely and was now twisted around his hips. According to the doctor whose name Bruce couldn’t remember, Clint’s heart looked like a healthy twenty year olds. As for his lung, it was impossible to tell that it had ever been damaged. Even the bruises from his mission with Jo were gone. The scars on his chest from the open heart surgery looked old and faint, and Clint’s vitals looked amazing. He also looked at peace, but that might be because of his two sleeping partners.

Jo was on his left side, and the bodyguard had one foot planted on the floor and the other stretched out over Clint’s leg so that her toes brushed against Darcy’s leg. The white shirt she was wearing had a dark stain over the right shoulder, where Clint bit her. Other than that, she looked completely uninjured. Darcy was on Clint’s right side, and she was curled up against the archer. She was using his shoulder as a pillow, and she had one arm draped across the top of his chest so that she could reach his hair. All three of them looked completely at ease, and Bruce was just about to walk away when he noticed dark eyes watching him. 

“Hiya, Doc.” Jo’s voice was even rougher than usual, and her eyes looked soft as she smiled up at him. 

“Did I wake you?” he whispered. He didn’t want to wake the other two; they can all use all the sleep they can get. 

“No, the painful twinge at the base of my spine did that. Think you can help me up?” She raised one hand, and Bruce slowly reached out to grab it. Her fingers wrapped around him, and they were rougher than he expected. Maybe the healing doesn’t take care of everything, like calluses. She winced as he pulled her up from the bed, and he watched the way that she pulled in a slow breath once she was standing. 

“Are you okay?” Tony said that Jo was a quick healer, but it has only been a day since their big fight. 

“Just a little sore. If I had known the city was going to be attacked the moment I returned, I might’ve taken it easy in Scotland.” Her smile stretched her cheeks, and she was standing so close that Bruce could smell oranges and the faint metallic scent of blood. 

“You look fine,” was the first thing to come to mind. There wasn’t a scratch on her, but he realized exactly what he’d said when Jo raised a brow at him and her smile changed into a smirk. 

“You’re too cute when you blush like that, Doc. So, think you can help me to my room? My leg’s kinda numb.” He nodded because he was scared to open his mouth again, and Jo looped her arm through his. Her other arm came up so she could hold onto his forearm, and Bruce led them out of the room. “How’s Natasha?”

“The broken bones have healed, and both of her kidneys are perfectly healthy. She had the same reaction as Clint, lasted a little over an hour, but she’s resting now. Thor is keeping an eye on her, and Steve is with Agent Hill.”

“Where’s Tony?” Jo’s hand was warm against his bare arm; why did he have his sleeves rolled up?

“Working in the lab. I think he said he was analyzing Darcy’s blood.” Jo just hummed, and Bruce thought back to the little interaction between her and Darcy before they were called into Clint’s room. “You and Tony have a theory?”

“Just between us?” Bruce looked over and realized just how close they were. 

“Just between us,” he agreed. They stepped into the elevator, and Jo seemed to slump against him. Like her body was giving out. 

“We think that there’s a small possibility that Darcy might have a mutant parent,” she whispered. A mutant parent?

“Wouldn’t she know?” 

“Darcy was found at a hospital, no mother or father. She was raised in foster homes, so she has no idea about where she comes from. The weird thing is that she’s never showed any signs of being a mutant before now.”

“Mutant attributes sometimes show up later in life, don’t they?” He’s studied mutant genetics, a little, while researching his other (greener) half. 

“A lot don’t realize that they’re mutants until puberty, but sometimes it’s obvious right from the get-go. Like me. Ma knew that I’d gotten my dad’s mutant powers right after I was born. Something about getting stuck with needles and not even bleeding. Darcy…her arm healed way too quickly, but her black eye healed at an average rate. It just doesn’t make sense, but it’s the only thing that does make sense. Ugh, my head hurts.” Jo rubbed her temple against his shoulder, and Bruce doesn’t know what to do to comfort her. 

“What if her mutant side has been repressed this entire time? Getting killed could have triggered it.” He’s thinking aloud, but Jo hummed anyway. 

“It’s possible. After Tony finishes running his little tests, we’re going to call the Professor. He’ll know what’s going on. The Professor knows everything.” The last part was said with a little whisper and smile, and Bruce felt something tightening in his gut. Why does she keep smiling at him like that?

“We’ll figure it all out,” Bruce said as the elevator stopped and the doors opened. Jo slowly straightened so that she wasn’t pressed against his side, but she was still holding onto his arm. 

“Okay, it’s nap time. It’s too bad that Tony’s working; I could really use a cuddle buddy.” She looked over at him, and Bruce felt his eyes widen. “But I guess you’ve got work to do too, huh?”

“I do.” Jo shrugged and let her arm slip through his. 

“Eh, maybe next time. Thanks for the escort, Doc.” Before he could tell her that it was no problem, she leaned up on her tiptoes and pressed a quick kiss against his cheek. Bruce watched her walk out of the elevator and into the living room that they both shared with Tony, and she raised her hand in farewell just as the doors closed. Bruce touched his cheek, but the spot was the same temperature as the rest of him. Funny, because that one little patch of skin felt a lot hotter.

**.xXx.**

“If you keep groaning like that, I’m going to kick you out.” Jo groaned even louder at that and flopped over onto her stomach so that she could bury her face into the couch cushion. She’d only managed to get two hours of sleep before she was up, but she feels like her old self again. No more aches and pains. She went to find Tony as soon as she was awake, and he was still in the lab doing Thor-knows-what. (She’s finally picked a religion; Thorism.)

“Toooooony.” She’s not whining. Nope. Not her. She heard Tony heave a sigh and then the quiet _slap_ of his bare feet against the tiles. He sat down next to her on the couch, and he swept her hair to the side so that he could massage the nape of her neck. 

“Okay, I’ll bite. What’s wrong?” Jo turned her face so that she wasn’t suffocating herself, but she didn’t look up at Tony. She just looked out into the lab as she told him about waking up on Clint’s hospital bed with Bruce standing over them. “Creepy.”

“He was checking Clint’s vitals. Anyway, so I asked him to help me up and then I told him that my leg was asleep. It was a little tingly, but it was mostly a lie because I wanted him to walk me to the elevator.”

“You lied to the good doctor?” She blindly slapped out of at him, listened to his little yelp of pain, and continued. 

“I just didn’t want to be alone for a minute, and I like his company. So we talked about how Natasha was doing and our Darcy theory—don’t say anything; I know you don’t care if Bruce knows. So after we got to our floor and we were getting ready to say goodbye, I…uh,” she trailed off. 

“You what?”

“I might have kissed him.” Tony exploded into laughter, and Jo got up on her knees so that she could whack him with one of the little pillows that came with the couch. Tony did his best to defend himself, but he was laughing too hard to put up much of a defense. “It was just on the cheek! A quick little peck! That’s all!”

“You!” insane laughter “Kissed!” a little more insane laughter “Bruce!”

“He’s going to think I’m such a weirdo,” Jo groaned and fell back onto the couch. She clutched the pillow to her chest and stared up at the ceiling, and she listened as Tony’s loud laughter drifted into quiet chuckles. 

“He’s not going to think you’re a weirdo,” Tony said as he propped his chin on top of the pillow she was holding. 

“What kind of person does something like that though? We’ve had like three face-to-face conversations, and at the end of the third one I kissed him! On the cheek, but still!” Tony smiled at her, so Jo huffed and turned away from him. 

“What you did is probably a good thing. Bruce has been avoiding physical human contact for so long that he’s probably forgotten what it’s like. What you’re doing is good for him. It lets him know that you’re not scared of him and that he’s accepted. So quit freaking out.” Jo turned his words over, and it made sense. Earlier this morning, which feels like a lifetime ago, Bruce tensed a little when she linked their arms. Is that because he’s not used to people touching him just for the sake of having a little contact?

“Huh, you really are a genius.” Tony was trying to smother her with the little pillow when a _ding!_ cut through the lab, and Jo pushed herself up into a sitting position. “Are you cooking something?”

“That would be test results. JARVIS, what are we looking at?”

“There is an X-gene present, sir.” 

“And that’s all she wrote,” Jo said and looked over at Tony. They both tensed up as the lab door opened and then immediately relaxed when they saw Bruce. He paused when he noticed the two of them, and Jo waved. She’s not going to be embarrassed; she’s going to show the Doc that he’s one of them. 

“Perfect timing! Come look at this, Bruce.” Jo let her hair down as the two scientists looked at a screen and started muttering to one another, and she found her hairbrush stuffed between two cushions. She’d been wondering where that ran off to. By the time she was finished putting her hair back up, Tony and Bruce were done talking and looking at her. 

“What?” Tony tugged on Bruce’s elbow to pull him over, and the two scientists sat down on either side of her since she was sitting in the middle of the couch. 

“It’s time to call the Professor and tell him what we know.” Jo gave JARVIS the number to the school to save him some time, and they all held still as they listened to the rings. 

“Xavier’s. What do you want?” Jo wanted to laugh at the gruff voice, but now isn’t the time. 

“Who put you on phone duty? They should know better than that,” she said with a little more drawl than usual. She listened to the deep huff and let herself smile; she’s really missed Logan. 

“What are you doin’ callin’ the Professor’s phone?” Logan asked. 

“I need to talk to him. It’s pretty important.”

“This got somethin’ to do with that dumbass boss of yours?” Jo slapped her hand over Tony’s mouth before he could say anything, and she held firm as Tony yanked on her wrist. 

“Completely unrelated. Please, Logan. I really need to talk to him.”

“I’ll be listenin’ in.”

“I’m okay with that.” She trusts Logan, and she knows that he’s just worried about her. Huh, maybe Logan really is her father figure. 

“He’s teachin’ a summer class. You! Kid! Go tell Wheels to get in here!” Jo rolled her eyes at Logan’s gruff voice and tried to figure out just how he became a teacher. Really, what was the Professor thinking?

“You doin’ okay? We saw what happened yesterday.” Jo gave Tony her angriest glare, and he narrowed his eyes before slowly nodding his head. Jo slowly eased her hand away from his mouth and placed her hands in her lap instead. 

“Who are you calling a dumbass?!” 

“Shut it, Tony! Yes, I’m fine. The fight wasn’t easy, but we’re all okay,” Jo said quickly. She could hear Logan grumbling on the other side of the phone, probably death threats, and decided to change the subject. Fast. “Oh, and Uncle Wade says hi.”

“What have I told you about that name?”

“It makes him happy.” Before Logan could say anything else, the sound of the Professor’s voice filled the background. Jo couldn’t hear what he was saying, but she knew that tone. It’s definitely the Professor. Logan told him what she’d said, and Jo waited. 

“How can I help you, Josephine?” His voice was soothing, and Jo relaxed back against the couch. 

“You know I’m not good with the science stuff, Professor, so I’m going to let Mr. Stark do all the explaining.” Tony quirked a brow at the “Mr.” thing, but Jo just shrugged and motioned for him to go on. The room was quiet except for Tony’s voice, and Jo let her eyes close as he explained the situation. He went over Darcy’s past, the mugging and her healing rate with the injuries from it, what Viper said, and about how she healed from a shot to the head. 

“Is it possible?” Tony asked when he was done. Logan was growling quietly in the background, and Jo knows why. There’s been an ongoing war between Logan and Viper for years. 

“Possible, yes, but it is very rare for this type of mutation to occur so late,” the Professor said thoughtfully. 

“Bruce had a theory,” Jo threw out. Wide brown eyes met hers, so she knocked her shoulder against the Doc’s and gave him an encouraging smile. 

“Dr. Banner?”

“I believe that the mutation has been dormant and was triggered by what happened with Viper. I think the only question now is if it will recede back into dormancy or remain present,” Bruce said quietly.

“Quite right, Dr. Banner. Every mutation is different, so we have no way of knowing what Miss Lewis is capable of. Knowing her parentage would give us an advantage,” the Professor said as Logan continued to grumble. 

“I’ve done some digging, and I haven’t been able to pull up anything. She was left in a basket in front of a hospital when she was only a few hours old, and there’s no record of either parent anywhere,” Tony said with a little glare. Jo can tell just how much this is bugging him, but there’s nothing they can do. 

“You need to tell her. If her abilities remain active, she will need to be taught. Do you understand, Josephine?” Yeah, she understands. Most people think that being able to heal requires no teaching whatsoever, but they’re wrong. It’s important to know your limits and if you can control it.

“Yes, Professor.”

“If you need anything, Josephine, we are here for you. Aren’t we, Logan?”

“Just say the word, kid.” Jo looked at Tony, looked at Bruce, and then looked down at her hands. 

“We’ve got everything here covered. Thank you, Professor.” Tony and Bruce took turns saying thank you and goodbye to the Professor, and Jo promised Logan that she’d call him again soon before hanging up. 

“How do you think Darcy will take it?” Tony asked once the call was ended. Jo crossed her arms under her chest and tried to imagine it, but she couldn’t. Would it be like someone telling her that she’s an alien? Because most people think of mutants as something foreign and other; something not even human. 

“There’s only one way to find out,” Jo shrugged. 

“It will take time to adjust, but Darcy is a strong girl,” Bruce said quietly. Jo smiled at him and then tried not to sigh when the bright smile caused a little color to rise into the Doc’s cheeks. He really is just too cute for his own good. 

“Yeah, we raised her right,” Tony sighed. Jo just hummed and tried to sort through her thoughts. So much has happened in such a short span of time, and her head is starting to feel full. 

“Sir, Director Fury has arrived.” JARVIS announced the arrival out loud for her and Bruce to hear, but Tony could see the live footage of the director walking into the foyer inside his mind. This is going to take some getting used to. 

“Are Natasha and Clint stable enough for a meeting?” Tony asked. Surprisingly, it was Bruce that answered and not JARVIS. 

“That’s why I came up here. They’re both conscious and all injuries have been healed, but they both have severe cases of…vomiting.” Bruce’s nose wrinkled a little, and Jo nearly cooed at the sight. She stopped right before she really embarrassed herself. 

“Then we’ll get them a bucket. C’mon, we need to get this all out,” Tony said and fluidly moved to his feet. Jo stood up next to him, and she offered her hand down to Bruce. The Doc lightly gripped her hand with his own, and Jo pulled him up off the couch. 

“Don’t forget Fury’s package. I wanna know what I got my ass kicked for,” Jo said and looked over at Tony. Right before leaving for the big fight, Jo gave Tony the big envelope that Roderick slipped into her back pocket before she left. Tony went to get it out of his safe, and Jo looped her arms through the two scientists’. It’s time for the big team meeting.

**.xXx.**

Darcy walked into the den behind Thor, who was carrying Natasha, so she couldn’t really see anything at first. Clint was leaning heavily against her side and apologizing for needing her help, so she couldn’t hear anything either. Once they got inside, she stretched her neck and took a look around. Bruce was sitting on one end of a couch, tucked into the corner, with Jo sitting next to him. Steve was sitting in one of the big chairs, and Maria was sitting in a wheelchair right next to him. Tony and a really tall black guy with a freakin’ eye patch were talking next to the fireplace, and it looked intense. Darcy followed Thor over to another long couch and waited for the big guy to ease Natasha down. She helped Clint sit, and Thor and Darcy took the end seats of the couch so that Natasha and Clint were between them. They were also armed with small trashcans and baby wipes, because of the nausea.

“Barton. Romanoff.” The two agents straightened up, despite the fact that they’re so sick they can’t even walk, so this guy must be someone important. 

“Director Fury,” they said together. Oh, this is the guy that Tony’s always yelling about. The Director of SHIELD; the big boss.

“It’s good to see you both.”

“Sir.” Both agents dipped their chins, but there’s something in their eyes. Darcy can’t read the look, but that’s probably because they’re super secret agents. 

“Let’s get this started! Richards?!” Tony yelled as he walked over to the couch. He sat down on the couch, and him and Jo immediately locked hands. A giant screen appeared above them, and Darcy blinked up at the four faces. One of them looks like a rock. 

“What’s happened?” the guy in the middle asked. He was wearing a white lab coat and had a little gray in his dark hair, and the pretty blonde standing behind him had a hand on his shoulder. 

“We believe that the Zodiac attack was a distraction,” Fury started. Ha! Zodiac Attack. What? It rhymes. “We’ve had mass breakouts at the Big House and Cube.”

“Villain prisons,” Clint whispered to her. Well, that explains why everyone looks so freaked out. Even Jo is looking a little pale. 

“How many?” Richards asked. 

“All of them.” Jo swore out loud, and Darcy could hear Natasha muttering under her breath in Russian. 

“Do we know who did it?” Steve asked. Fury looked around at all of them and drummed his fingers against the mantle over the fireplace. 

“There was no footage at the Cube, but we picked up an image from the Big House before our communications went down. It was Sinthea Shmidt, and we believe that she was there to free her father.” Steve’s jaw was clenched so tight that Darcy was afraid that his head was going to explode, and Thor dutifully held Natasha’s hair back as she emptied her stomach. 

“What do you need us to do?” Richards asked. 

“I need you and your team to go to a secure location to rebuild the prisons. We can’t let this happen again. Stark has agreed to consult, but he will remain here in the city.” Tony nodded at Fury’s words, and Natasha was able to sit back against the couch. Richards looked back at his team, and the three people nodded. 

“Just let us know when and where.”

“We’ll talk later, Richards,” Tony said. The screen suddenly disappeared, and Darcy blinked up at empty air. 

“This is a nightmare,” Maria muttered and rubbed at her temples. 

“Do you know how many of those pissed off prisoners I put away?” Jo groaned. Oh, so that explains the paleness. 

“About the same amount that we put away,” Clint huffed. He’s looking a little green, so Darcy rubbed soothing circles across his back. 

“What’s the plan?” Fury looked at Steve and then shook his head. 

“Plan? We don’t have a plan. Over a hundred prisoners escaped and scattered, and we have no way of finding them. The only thing we can do is wait.”

“Can we move on then? I have a suit to rebuild,” Tony said with a pointed look at his bodyguard. Jo just glared right back and didn’t say anything, but she didn’t let go of Tony’s hand either. Those two are so weird. 

“Eris?” That’s a really weird codename; Darcy likes Tank better. The imagery is a lot more fun. 

“Got it right here, sir.” Tony pulled an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to Fury, who opened it and then immediately handed something over to Tony. Darcy’s pretty sure that Fury is making a statement, but he could’ve just told Tony to open it. Oh, it’s a memory stick. That’s kinda boring. Tony plugged it into his phone, and a screen popped up. 

“It’s…names,” Natasha said quietly. She’s still not looking so good, and neither is Clint. The file showed nothing but a long list of names, and everyone turned to face Fury. 

“I dirty boxed two giant Scots for this?” Jo asked, with just a small hint of anger. Fury looked past the couch that Jo was on to where the agents where, and Darcy was on the edge of her seat. 

“I don’t have any proof, but something isn’t right. The Scots got this off one of our operatives, but I have no record of its existence. I don’t know what the names mean.”

“It’s why we were investigating HYDRA. There are things that don’t add up,” Natasha added. 

“What do you want us to do about it?” Oh yeah, Tony definitely doesn’t like Fury. 

“Nothing, for now. I need us all to be on the same team.” Tony shifted at that but nodded, and it was Steve that spoke up. 

“We’re all on the same team, sir.”

“And since we’re all on the same team, I think Maria should finish out her recovery here. She’ll be vulnerable on her own,” Tony said quickly. Maria sputtered and looked at Fury, and Darcy tried not to laugh. Tony’s a nice guy trapped in an asshole’s body, so sometimes he just decides to do nice things without asking for permission first. 

“Fair enough.” Maria huffed quietly and let her shoulders slouch a little, but her broken ribs stopped her from doing much else. 

“Okay! Time for the good stuff. Half of us in this room should be dead, but we’re all still here. Let’s start with me,” Tony said and actually pointed at himself. 

“Shocker,” Jo drawled. When Tony turned to glare at her, she leaned back onto Bruce and smiled. 

“I’ve been keeping a modified version of Extremis in case of emergencies. For those that don’t know, Extremis was developed by some bad dudes trying to recreate the Super Soldier thing but it was a bust. Mostly. It works on a limited number of the population and burns people up from the inside. I modified it into what I thought was a healing agent.”

“What you thought?” Natasha asked. Thor was still lightly rubbing Natasha’s back, because the agent is still shaking slightly. Clint’s sitting stone still, so Darcy’s hands are in her lap. 

“When I fell, nearly every bone broke. A few organs ruptured. I should be dead.” Tony is gripping Jo’s hand so tight that both of their hands are turning colors. “The Extremis healed me, but it also enhanced me a little.”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Jo muttered. So Jo already knows. What is she saying? Of course Jo already knows. 

“I’ve got a link to satellites and computer networks, and to JARVIS. It makes things go a lot faster,” Tony said with a little smile. 

“He can google stuff in his brain,” Jo explained. 

“Tony’s brain is a computer? Sweet,” Darcy said with a nod. Tony glared at her this time, so she just smiled at him. Huh, his glare is looking a little weak today. 

“Have you used this Extremis on Natasha and Clint?” Thor asked. Go, big guy! Keeping them all on track. Tony shook his head and looked at the two agents. 

“Extremis gave me the idea, but it’s something that I’ve developed completely on my own. It’s still in the experimental stage, but it healed you.” Clint and Natasha both raised their heads to look at him, and Tony shifted under the combined anger. “So there are still some kinks to work out.”

“You think?” Clint asked as a tremor worked through him. 

“It should ease off soon,” Tony said and tried to smile. Well, that covers the three people who _survived_. 

“What about me?” Tony and Jo both looked at her, and she can’t read them. She can always read Tony and Jo, because they don’t hide from her. Is there something wrong with her?

“Darcy, if you want, we can talk alone,” Jo said quietly. Darcy looked around the room and thought it over real quick. The two agents, the agent that tried to save her, Thor, Cap’n ‘Merica, the world’s scariest pirate, the good doctor, and the weirdest couple to never date. She can trust all these people, right?

“Just tell me.” Tony and Jo exchanged a look, and Darcy could tell that they were having a telepathic conversation. Well, Tony was talking internally and Jo was listening. After a moment, something was decided and they both turned to her again. She thought it would be Tony that answered her, but it was Jo. 

“It’s rare for something like this to show up so late in life, but it’s not impossible.”

“There’s something wrong with me, isn’t there?” she asked before Jo could continue. Her green eyes widened, and some of her hair fell free as she shook her head. 

“No! There’s nothing wrong with you, Darcy. Nothing, okay? You’re just…different.”

“Different how?” Everyone looks as confused as she feels, except for the two scientists and Jo. 

“Different like me,” she said with a shrug. Darcy got shot in the head and survived, just like Jo. 

“Am I still human?” Darcy whispered. She could feel her heart beating against her chest and in her throat, and it sounds like water is rushing through her ears. 

“Technically, yes. You’re not a _homo sapiens_ though. We’re _homo sapiens superior_ ,” Jo said with a little smile. She’s a different species? She always thought she was a little weird, but a different species? How is this even possible?

“H-how?” 

“We think one of your parents passed the gene down; we’re just not sure why it took so long to manifest or if it’ll stay active.” Gene, manifest, active…No one knows anything about her, because she doesn’t know who she came from. The only reason she’s alive is because some mutant gene decided to kick in and save her, and now it might just disappear but she’s still not really human. Darcy’s mind was about to kick into overdrive when she felt a slight pressure on her hand, and she looked over at Clint. 

“I like mutants,” he said with a shrug. It was said so simply, like a child on the playground announcing that he likes cheese, and Darcy’s laugh sounded a little watery. So, she’s a mutant. She can live with that. 

“Can we talk later, Jo?” 

“Of course. Whenever you want.”

“And we want you to know that we still love you and you’re the favorite,” Tony added. That got Darcy to laugh one more time, and she held onto Clint’s hand a little harder. 

“This has all been very touching, but some of us have things to do,” Fury said pointedly. Tony waved his hand, and Fury nodded at the agents before striding out of the room. 

“Anybody got anything else they want to bring up?” Tony asked. When no one said anything, he clapped his hands and jumped to his feet. “Meeting adjourned!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter was fun to write. I actually mean that too. Everyone is alive, Darcy's situation was somewhat explained, and there were Bruce/Jo moments! There's a lot that I could talk about in this chapter, but I wouldn't even know where to start. Feel free to ask me any questions!


	13. Talk About Teamwork

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _when marimba rhythms start to play_   
>  _dance with me, make me sway_   
>  _like a lazy ocean hugs the shore_   
>  _hold me close, sway me more_   
>  **Sway by Dean Martin**   
> 

**August 1, 2014**

Jo eased back into the waking world after realizing that she could breathe easier, because Tony rolled off of her chest. She’s gotta stop sleeping with him; it’s bad for her health. Sleeping in the bed does mean that she’s really close to his closet though. Pros and cons for everything. Jo eased off the bed and tiptoed out of the room, and Tony was still snoring quietly when she closed the door behind her. She moved over to her own room and went straight for the shower, because her hair needs a good scrubbing.

Thirty minutes later, she felt like a brand new person. She should probably cut her hair to make it a little more manageable, but she doesn’t want to. Not yet at least. So, for now, she’s just going to put it up into a giant ball and get dressed. Her mind drifted as she looked for something to wear, and she thought back to last night. Darcy found her in the lab a few hours after the big team meeting, and Jo talked about what it was like to be a mutant. The good and the bad. Darcy listened to it all with a calm mind, and they came up with a plan. 

A pair of green denim shorts got yanked up her legs, and she might have been a little too aggressive. She understands the need for the plan, but she’s not real excited about it. She tugged on a black tank top and left her feet bare, because she’s not planning on leaving the house today. Her and Darcy talked about more than just the mutant thing, so her whole day is pretty much packed. First things first, breakfast. Tony always wakes up early, especially if she gets up early, so he’ll be up soon. The rest of the house will probably be hungry too. 

“Dude! That one is huge!” Jo paused before walking into the kitchen and stuck just her head inside. Thor was standing in front of the stove, in nothing but a pair of blue jogging pants, and Darcy was lightly bouncing on her toes next to him. Going by the smell, the big guy is making pancakes. Going by the stacked plates, he’s making breakfast for everyone. She could go inside and they’d both be happy to see her, but Jo doesn’t want to interrupt. After everything that’s happened, Thor and Darcy could use some alone time. 

“How’s everyone doing today, JARVIS?” she asked as she walked back to the elevator. 

“Everyone is stable and sleeping, Miss Jo, except for Master Thor and Miss Lewis of course.”

“We’re all okay.”

“Indeed, Miss Jo.”

**.xXx.**

Breakfast was delicious, and Darcy did nothing to help with that. Well, she carried plates of pancakes into the dining room, but that’s it. Thor did all the cooking, because he has a knack for cooking breakfast foods. Thor carried in the giant plates of bacon and eggs, but Darcy totally carried some of the drinks! Breakfast was also surprisingly normal. Tony and Bruce talked science, to the point that Bruce scribbled out equations on a napkin. Jo, who was stuck between the two scientists, took turns eating off their plates without them noticing. Steve, Natasha, and Thor talked about possible battle plans and contingency plans just in case they were attacked. Clint introduced her to Jade, a chicken that he won in a poker game and that JARVIS apparently took care of while he was in the hospital for two days, and they spent the rest of the meal petting and cooing at the chicken.

Breakfast is over now though, so it’s time for her to go down to the gym with Jo. Tony and Bruce are going up to their labs, Clint and Thor are going to buy food for the house (and the chicken), and Natasha and Steve are going to do…something. Agent things? Darcy wasn’t really paying attention, because she kept looking at Jo. She’s wearing shorty shorts and a tank top, and she looks so completely normal. Like any other woman on the street. She’s a little tall and very curved, and her smiles make her cheeks puffy. Jo can fight the God of Thunder and walk away; she can get shot in the head and laugh; they call her the Tank. 

“You sure about this, Darcy?” The gym doors have been locked down at her request, and Jo is facing her now. 

“Not really. Healing first?” Jo’s lips pinched into a thin line, and she slowly nodded her head. She reached into the neck of her tank top and pulled a knife out of her bra, and Darcy felt her eyes roll. Really? The bra?

“Don’t give me that look. Weapons can be hidden anywhere. _Anywhere_. Now give me your arm.” Darcy held her left arm out, and this time Jo rolled her eyes as she held onto her forearm and pulled up her shirt sleeve. “Just a tiny little cut, okay?”

“I can handle this,” Darcy said and nodded. She’s strong enough to handle this. The blade lightly touched against her skin, there was a line of red, and then nothing. No pain. Jo wiped away the small amount of blood with a handkerchief that she pulled out of her back pocket and then looked up at Darcy. “That’s good, right?”

“It means you can still heal small things, and I really don’t want to test the big stuff.” Jo’s eyes look huge up this close, and they are a really dark green. Darcy shook herself and then sucked in a deep breath. 

“We’ve got to. Just, break the left arm, and we’ll both pray that it heals faster than three weeks.” When they talked about testing her abilities, they decided that Jo had to be the one to do it. The agents have the ability to do it, but Darcy doesn’t want to ask them to hurt a civilian like herself. Thor and Bruce both have the ability to do it, but neither one would ever forgive themselves. Jo…Jo can do it; she’s the only one that can do it. She can do it because Darcy needs her to; Darcy needs to know what her new mutant body can do, and Jo understands that. Even if she doesn’t really like it. 

“Sorry.” Darcy yelped as her arm was snapped in two, and she’d only counted to five when the pain stopped. Jo ran her fingers over Darcy’s arm and then smiled. “Completely healed. Looks like that fast-acting regenerative healing is here to stay.”

“You don’t think Natasha will start shooting me too, do you?” Jo’s laugh cleared the air a little, and Darcy smiled.

“Nah, she likes you. So, want to see if you got the strength part too?” Jo’s grin was a little too wide and happy, and it kinda makes her think of Thor. They both really love fighting. 

“How do we test that?” Does she have to weight lift or something?

“Hit me.” Oh, well, that’s one way to do it. Darcy moved into the stance that Natasha showed her, and Jo put her arms behind her back and lifted her chin. Jo just looks so soft and non-threatening. She can’t hit her! But she has to. She made a fist, like Natasha showed her, and swung from her hips. The hit barely even turned Jo’s head. 

“No super strength,” Darcy shrugged. 

“You didn’t even try! You were definitely holding back, and you’ve gotta really try. Oh! Get angry!” Get angry? She’s not Hulk. Or Bruce. Whatever. “C’mon, anger is the best way to lose a little control and go all-out.”

“You’re the telepath. Make me angry.” Jo’s cheek twitched and then her eyes narrowed, and Darcy waited to see what would happen. 

“You were ten and at a new school. The class bully had to show you your place. He smelled like tater tots and BO. On your first day, he cut your hair. On the second day, he put glue in your seat and it ripped your pants. On the third day, he pushed you down on the playground. He sat on your back and pushed your face in the dirt. Dirt got in your mouth, up your nose, in your eyes. A worm was trapped under your cheek. The kids kept chanting Ewis over and over. Ewis, Ewis, Ewis…”

The more Jo talked, the easier it was to remember everything. It was like being ten all over again, and she could remember exactly how it felt to be trapped under Dan Kerns’ weight while he made her eat dirt just because she was the new kid, again, and she had been so _angry_. Darcy threw out a punch just to get Jo to stop talking, and she sucked in a deep breath after the hit connected. Her eyes were clenched shut, but they flew open when she heard the loud _thud!_. Jo was halfway across the gym and sprawled out on the floor, and she raised her head a moment later. 

“You got super strength too!” she yelled out. Darcy did that? It was just one little hit! 

“Awesome!”

“Now we can really fight!” 

“Yea—Wait! What?!”

**.xXx.**

“Damn, Josie, what happened to you?” Clint asked as she walked into the kitchen. Darcy walked in behind her, but she’s flawless. There isn’t a single scratch or bruise on the kid, but Jo looks like she just went up against a meat cleaver. Well, maybe that’s going overboard. Her lip is split and her cheek is still bruised, and there’s some bruises on the rest of her body too. Jo looked over at Darcy, who just smiled.

“I happened,” she said with a proud grin. Thor stepped away from the giant sandwich he was making to sweep Darcy up into the air, and Jo nodded at Clint. Yeah, Darcy really did a number on her. 

“She heals faster than I do, and I think she might be a little stronger,” Jo admitted. 

“She’s lying. Jo was totally holding back,” Darcy said with a laugh as Thor spun her around. 

“You are a formidable warrior, Darcy,” Thor said and placed her back on the ground. 

“Yeah, it takes a real hit to bruise Jo like this.” Clint went to poke her cheek, but Jo slapped his hand away. 

“Is it okay if I feel bad about that?” Darcy asked as she got out sandwich stuff. 

“Just means you still have a soul,” Jo said and filled up the little teapot. JARVIS can find the cutest things sometimes, because she knows that Tony didn’t buy this. 

“We’re taking this up to Maria and Natasha, and maybe Steve,” Clint said and held up a plate loaded down with sandwiches. Thor was holding another plate with the same amount, and Jo just nodded. Talk about teamwork. 

“See ya later!” Darcy called out. Once they were gone, she turned back to Jo and took a breath. “We still good on the plan? I’ll feed Tony and you’ll feed Bruce?”

“Yep, because if we don’t, they’ll wither away.”

“You and Tony aren’t going to go through withdrawals, are you?” Jo swatted at Darcy as she started making Bruce’s sandwich, and she laughed as she jumped away. 

“I’m sure we’ll survive a few hours apart.” They still sleep together, and Tony actually supported the plan last night. Darcy waited with Jo for the water to boil, and they both set up trays of food before slowly walking to the elevator together. 

“How do you think they’ve survived for this long?” It’s a good question. Jo knows for a fact that Tony will go days without eating if he’s really busy working on a project, and she’s pretty sure that Bruce is the same way. Geniuses. The both of them. 

“I’m not really sure.” 

“Well, have fun with your scientist. Mine’s probably singing AC/DC off-key,” Darcy groaned as they went their separate ways. Jo waved and then moved to the left, where Bruce’s lab is. Unlike Tony’s lab, Bruce’s was really quiet. No blaring music. No clanking. No random shouting. It was a little eerie. 

“Bruce?” A curly head appeared from behind a giant machine, and his eyes looked really big behind his glasses. 

“Is everything okay?” It’s a reasonable question, considering how the past few days have been. 

“Yeah, everything and everyone is fine. I brought lunch.” She moved over to the couch and gently sat down the tray on the little table situated in front of the couch. Bruce moved out from behind his machinery, and Jo just…blinked. It was either that or drool. Bruce’s black pants fit him just right, and the blue button-up only has the two middle buttons done up. He came to breakfast in a robe, so he must have thrown on some clothes before coming straight here. 

“Lunch?” He must have noticed her staring, just a little, and hastily did up the rest of the buttons. It’s not like she was complaining or anything. 

“Yeah, the meal that you eat in the middle of the day. JARVIS even told me what kind of tea you like,” she said and gestured to the tray. Bruce eased himself down next to her, and he pushed his glasses up into his hair. Jo’s not sure why that’s so cute, but it is. 

“I don’t know what to—I, uh—thanks—why?” Jo placed the tea bags into the cups and poured the hot water in, and she gets what Tony was talking about now. If Bruce is this shocked at having someone bring him lunch, then she’s definitely doing the right thing. The Doc needs to know that he’s one of them, and that simple acts of kindness are normal. 

“Because you need to eat, I need to eat, and Thor and Clint went grocery shopping. Which I would pay to see, by the way. Do you want chicken or turkey?” She passed him his tea and then took a sip of her own. Not bad. 

“Oh, um, turkey?” She passed the right plate over and then leaned back on the couch with her plate in her lap. 

“You should get used to this, Bruce. I’ll probably be up here every day, with some kind of lunch dish, and this cute little teapot. If you have any food requests, let me know.”

“You don’t have to.” His back is curved because he’s leaning forward over his plate, and he peeked over at her from under his hair. She slowly reached forward, made sure that he could see her hand before making contact, and lightly touched his forearm. 

“I want to, Bruce. I like your company, and we both need to eat. So, having lunch together makes sense.”

“Well, when you put it that way…”

“I sound like the genius. Now eat your turkey and be happy.” She could see the corners of his lips twitching up into a smile as he chewed, and she leaned back again to start eating her own lunch. 

“What happened to your face?”

**.xXx.**

Jo was rooting around inside the refrigerator when she heard footsteps, and she leaned up just enough to look over her shoulder. Pretty blue eyes, blonde hair, and a polite smile. She’ll never get over just how perfect Captain America is, or that his right hook could take down a whale. She straightened up completely as he walked farther into the kitchen, and she turned around with several steaks stacked in her arms. Steve raised a brow and his smile broadened, and Jo just shrugged.

“Thor took over breakfast, so I thought I’d cook dinner for everyone,” she explained. 

“Would you like some help?” Would she like help cooking dinner from the Captain America? Yes, she is totally okay with that. 

“I would love some help. I was thinking mashed potatoes and green beans for sides.”

“I’ll get the potatoes.” 

Steve is a cooking genius, and he just might be the sweetest guy ever. He talked about adjusting to this century as they peeled potatoes, and Jo listened to him talk about his old army days as he seasoned the steaks and put them on the grill. He talked so easily, and Jo had to force herself to stay out of his head as he talked about his past and the present. One weird thing? When he was sad, he smiled. It was a curve of his lips and a dimple in his cheek, and it kinda tore her up inside. What kind of life did he have that he learned how to smile when he was sad?

“Well, Steve, I’ve got a confession.” Steve slid another steak onto a plate, tossed a towel over his shoulder, and then looked at her. 

“That’s never good,” he said with a smile. She can see it now, since she’s really looking. Yeah, he looks young and as fit as a god (ha!), but there’s something in his eyes. They look so much older than the rest of him. 

“I’m a huge Captain America fan,” she grinned. 

“You’re teasing.” If she’s not mistaken, there was a slight blush on his cheeks as he flipped another steak. 

“Nope, not even a little bit. Every year for Christmas and my birthday, and the few times I got straight A’s, Logan got me Captain America comic books. Original ones that I’m assuming he had stashed somewhere from the good ol’ days. After Ma passed, I sold the house and moved the things I couldn’t get rid of into a storage building. All of the comics are still there.”

“You kept all of them?” Steve glanced over at her, and Jo hefted herself up onto the counter. 

“Of course. Those are my prized possessions. Captain America has always been my favorite superhero,” Jo admitted. Steve started mashing the potatoes, but Jo does not feel like a slacker. Not one little bit. 

“You are a superhe—”

“Stop! Not a superhero, just a mutant. You’re a hero.” Maybe she said that a little too sincerely, because Steve looked away from her and kept quiet for a minute. 

“I did what I thought was right,” Steve finally said. 

“And I did things that I knew were wrong. Come on, Cap. You were a little mutant girl’s hero. Smile,” she said and lightly nudged him with her toes. He used his hip to push back against her foot, and she saw a small smile on his face. Mission accomplished. 

“How big of a fan were you?” 

“For Halloween, I dressed up as Cap three years in a row.” Steve’s surprised laugh made her smile, and she watched the way that his shoulders relaxed. 

“Logan?” Jo blinked and let her legs swing. 

“Uh, yeah. He found me and Ma when he was looking for my dad, but my dad was dead and he just found us. Ma had a thing for strays, so she convinced him to stay. He moved in when I was two, and he went with me to Xavier’s when I was ten. I think he’s like a father figure.”

“He’s like you?” 

“Kind of, but his healing is way more advanced and he’s a little stronger. There’s also the adamantium skeleton and claws. He also goes by James Howlett and Wolverine, but he’s always been Logan to me.” Steve’s brow wrinkled as he moved another steak and added some stuff into the mashed potatoes, and Jo waited patiently. 

“I think I might have fought with him in the war,” Steve finally said. 

“He’s been alive forever, so it wouldn’t surprise me. Would you like to talk to him sometime?” 

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

“It wouldn’t be an intrusion. Tell ya what, next time I talk to him, I’ll mention you.”

“You’re a good person, Jo.” Hearing that always makes a person feel good. Hearing that from Captain America? She almost fell off the counter. 

“You’re teasing,” she said and prayed that she wasn’t blushing. Will Thor answer those kinds of prayers?

“Only a little. Grab those plates for me?” 

“Aye, aye, cap’n!” Together, they managed to carry the plates and bowls into the dining room. It took two trips, but Cap is a good leader. She knew she was voting for the right person; she’ll just never tell Tony that. 

“Same time tomorrow?” Steve paused in the doorway to wait for her answer, because he’s going to get Maria. She’s still confined to a wheelchair, but Tony set her up in a guest room on the third floor. 

“I’ll bring my history books.” Steve smiled at her before walking out, and Jo felt…happy. It’s been so long since she’s had a real home. 

“Miss Jo? Should I alert the others?” Jo shook herself a little and nodded, because JARVIS sees everything. 

“Yeah, thanks. Oh! Make sure you tell the scientists that if they don’t come down, I will personally bring them to the dinner table.”

“Of course, Miss Jo.”

**.xXx.**

“Master Stark, Miss Lewis, dinner is served.” Tony didn’t show any acknowledgement of the AI’s announcement, so Darcy put down her book and moved over to the genius’s side. He was seriously focusing on something, but it must have been something in his head because there’s nothing on the table in front of him.

“Yo, Tony! It’s feeding time!” His fingers twitched, but that was it. Darcy lightly poked his cheek and wide brown eyes blinked up at her. 

“Darce?” His eyes slowly came into focus, and Darcy bent down to watch the way that his pupils shuddered. 

“Are you okay?” Tony said the Extremis changed his brain, but just how much did it change?

“You have two minutes before Miss Jo comes to collect you, sir.” Tony seemed to come out of it, and he smiled up at her. It looks real enough, but she’s still not completely convinced. 

“Just trying out the new hardware,” Tony said and tapped his temple. 

“Uhuh. And how’s that working out for you?” Several machines lit up at once, and Darcy whirled around to watch as everything in the lab seemed to come to life. Then, just as suddenly as it started, everything went quiet. When she turned back to Tony, he was smiling like he’d just been told that Santa was on the way. “That was awesome!”

“Right? Now can we go? Jo isn’t always gentle,” Tony said and stood up. 

“That’s way more than I needed to know about your sex life,” she said as she followed after him. 

“You’re old enough now for the talk, right?”

“I’m twenty-three. I think I’m old enough.”

“You’ll always be my little girl.” Darcy was still glaring at the billionaire’s back when they reached the elevator, where Bruce was holding the door open for them. Bruce is so nice. Can she be his assistant? “Your eyes have mutiny in them.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about, daddy-o.”

“Um, do I want to know what’s going on?” Bruce asked a little warily. 

“She’s just in a rebellious stage,” Tony whispered. Loudly.

“I’ll show you a—”

“There you are! I was just about to come up and get you. Everything okay?” The doors were open, and Jo was standing in front of them with her fists propped on her hips. 

“Hi, Jo.”

“Hey, Doc! Are these two being rude?” Bruce’s lips twitched into a smile, and Jo was flashing a dimple. Interesting. 

“I think Tony is worried about losing his little girl,” Bruce said and stepped off the elevator. Jo linked her arm through his and started walking, and Darcy had to hold back her laugh as Tony’s mouth dropped open. She nudged Tony out of the elevator and got him to walk, but he just kept staring after Jo and Bruce. 

“Looks like you’ve been dumped, daddy-o,” Darcy said with a barely controlled smile. Tony looks like someone just took his favorite toy away. And set it on fire. 

“Tony!” Darcy actually jumped as Jo suddenly whirled around, and she saw Bruce standing in the dining room doorway with a small smile on his face. Jo had her arms wrapped so tight around Tony’s body that it looked painful, but the boss is smiling. “I’m sorry I was so mean to you. I promise you’re still my favorite.”

“I wasn’t worried.” Jo whispered something in his ear, that Darcy couldn’t hear even though she’s standing right beside them, and Tony’s laugh was low and warm. 

“C’mon, boss. I saved the juiciest steak for you.” Bruce moved into the dining room, followed by Tony and Jo, and Darcy walked in last. Those two are such a married couple, it’s weird. 

“This is really good. Thank you, Jo. Steve.” Steve smiled politely at Maria, and Jo just snorted. 

“Don’t thank me. Steve did all the cooking. I just…supervised,” Jo said with a big grin. Huh, that’s kinda weird. Jo actually likes cooking, but Steve can really cook. The steaks might not be Thor’s pancakes, but they’re ranking pretty high on the yummy scale. 

“That’s not true. She helped,” Steve said with a little look down the table. Jo shook her head, and Steve huffed. Just a little. “She peeled the potatoes.”

“Ha! ‘Cause she’s good with a knife,” Clint giggled out. Darcy kicked him under the table, laughed when he yelped, and gave Jo the I-got-yo-back-girl look. 

“I am good with a knife. Keep that in mind, Clinton,” Jo said and waved her steak knife around. 

“I ain’t scared of ya, Josie,” Clint said back and pointed his knife right back at her. 

“I will shoot both of you.” The knives were quickly placed back on the table, and Natasha smiled a little bit before taking another bite. 

“Friends, now is not the time to fight. Now is the time to feast!” Jo and Clint both smiled at Thor and nodded. 

“Clint and I never fight, Thor.”

“Because she cheats.”

“He’s a sore loser.”

“I just turned the safety off.” Jo and Clint went silent again, and Thor’s booming laugh seemed to shake the table. Man, Darcy will never get tired of seeing the big guy smile like that. He’s kinda like the big brother that she always wanted. (Tony’s the big brother she never wanted but is okay with having.)

The rest of dinner passed somewhat normally, if a table full of superheroes arguing over the last steak is normal. (Bruce won.) When dinner was over, Clint and Natasha took the dishes and declared that they were going to do the washing. Thor asked Bruce for a spar, and Darcy watched his eyes flash green before he agreed. It was still so cool to see his eyes do that, and seeing Hulk up close was a life changing experience. Steve offered to take Maria back to her room and help her get resettled, and Jo was stuck to Tony’s side. She knew that those two were going to go through withdrawals, but it’s…kinda sweet. 

“You’ve got until one, and then it’s bedtime. Got it, boss?” Jo asked once they were inside the lab. She walked Tony over to his stool, and he spun around to look at her. 

“Whatever you say, sweetheart.” Darcy can’t see his face from this angle, but she’s guessing that he’s got one of those patronizing smirks on his face because Jo’s brows are drawn pretty close together.

“Ass.” She pulled on his hair, kissed his forehead, and then moved over to the couch. See the weirdness? It’s everywhere. Jo flopped onto the couch with a quiet little groan and pulled her book out from under a cushion, and Darcy spun around on her little chair. She likes this chair. 

“Hey, Jo?” 

“Hmm?” She placed her book on her stomach so that Darcy had her full attention, and she stopped spinning so that she could really look at Jo. 

“Who taught you how to dance?” Jo’s eyes widened for a moment, and her smile looked…sad. 

“My ma. We used to dance when I was little, mostly in the kitchen. We danced when we cleaned, when we had those big mother-daughter talks, all the time.” Darcy knows that Jo’s mom died when she was sixteen, so she gets the sad look now. 

“What about Clint?” Jo’s smile wasn’t sad now, but it was a little bittersweet. 

“You’ll have to ask him when he started dancing, but we started dancing together not long after we met. After Ma passed, I stopped dancing completely. Not even a few little shakes while doing laundry, until Clint. I feel like dancing keeps her spirit alive.” 

“I’ve, uh, I’ve never really…well, not with anyone…uh, nevermind.” Jo pushed up into a sitting position and laid her book to the side, and Darcy fiddled with the hole in the knee of her jeans. 

“You’ve never danced?” Jo looks almost offended. It’d be funny if Darcy wasn’t feeling the hot burn of embarrassment. 

“Sure I have, when I’m alone. No one taught me how to really dance though, like you and Clint dance.”

“No awkward sixth grade dance? Homecoming? Prom? College party?” Wow, this is really bothering her. Maybe she shouldn’t have brought it up. 

“I had better things to do at college, and no one asks the foster kid to the prom.” Jo looked like she was going to cry for a second and then she straightened her shoulders. Uh-oh, that is a very determined look. A very determined look that is aimed right at her. 

“On your feet, kid. Everyone should know how to dance,” Jo said as she stood up. Darcy tilted her head back to look at the other woman, and she slowly shook her head. 

“We really don’t have to.”

“Yeah, we really do. JARVIS, play me something good.” A slow song played over the speakers, and Tony didn’t say a word at the music change. He’s either very focused on his work or supports Jo’s decision. 

“Alright, fine.” Darcy slowly got to her feet, and Jo’s smile was so sweet and genuine. 

“Let’s get one thing clear, okay? This is not your first dance. This is an instruction, because your first dance will be something sweet and magical. This will just help you be more prepared.”

“You’re a good mom.” She could tell the words meant a lot to Jo, even though it was said in a joking tone. Darcy means it though. Jo and Tony are weird, but they’re good to her. They’ve been so good to her, and they care. They don’t have to, but they do. 

“Let’s see if you say the same thing when we’re done. Let’s start old school, hmm?”

**.xXx.**

“Jo?”

“Yeah?” The slow circles on his back didn’t stop, and Tony let his head fall forward at the soothing sensation. He wasn’t lying when he said that Jo knew how to give a good scrub. 

“What you did for Darcy, that was a really good thing.” Jo hummed a little as she finished with his back, and Tony let out a little sigh when she started washing his hair. He’s not sure what he did to deserve his bodyguard, but he’s really glad he did it. 

“It just, it makes me a little sad. She’s never really had a home, or a family.” Jo’s fingers were gentle as they combed through his hair, and she somehow managed to rinse out the suds without getting any water in his eyes. She’s like a bathing guru. 

“She has one now.” He could feel the cotton of Jo’s tank top against his back as she wrapped her arms around his chest, and he relaxed back into the hug. 

“We all do.” A home, a family. He’s always had a home, or he thought he did. He’s starting to figure out that a home is more than just walls and a roof. It’s the people under the roof that really make a home. “C’mon, before you get all wrinkly.” 

“You’re so good to me.”

“Mhmm. Now out.” Jo was holding a towel open for him when he stood up, and she used a second towel to dry his hair while he wiped himself off. Once she was done, he smacked a kiss against her forehead and left the bathroom so she could have her shower. He’s offered to scrub her back a few times, but she always just smiles at him and says that she’s got it covered. 

When she came out of the bathroom thirty minutes later, Tony was sitting back against the headboard with his eyes closed. He was working on something in the lab, some new toys for Clint and Natasha, but Jo’s shuffling feet caused his eyes to open. The first thing he noticed was that she was wearing another one of his tee shirts and his red silk boxers (the ones with the little Iron Man faces). The second thing he noticed was that her hair was completely down, which she didn’t do very often. It’s a shame too. Her hair is so long and pretty. He really needs to get some sleep. 

“Do you own any clothes?” Jo paused and looked across the bed at him. 

“Yup.”

“Then why don’t you wear them?”

“Because yours are comfier.” His eyes rolled as she smiled, and he flipped the blanket back so she could climb into the bed. He waited until she was settled onto her back, and Jo spread her arms with a pointed look. Okay, so maybe he likes using her as a pillow. She’s comfy!

“Love you,” he mumbled once his face was pressed against her stomach. She had one arm across his back and under his arm so that her fingers pressed against the arc reactor, and her other hand was buried in his hair. It’s their go-to sleep position. 

“Love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep realizing how violent this story is, which is a little funny because according to my reasons I am the most carefree and chill person ever. The Darcy thing was necessary though, and there's no permanent damage.
> 
> The point of this chapter is to show how their downtime is spent and to show some team bonding. Trust me, there's bonding going on that I'm not even writing. That's why the little things are important. Clint and Thor shopping. Steve and Natasha planning. Thor and Darcy cooking breakfast. Jo and Steve cooking dinner. Bruce and Tony with their science. Little things are happening all over the place, but it's hard to write a scene for everything. The next chapter will have some more of these little scenes and some action! No one almost dies this time, I promise. 
> 
> For anyone who's curious, the song lyrics at the top don't really have anything to do with the chapter. It's just what I imagine Darcy and Jo dancing to around the lab, while Tony sneakily taps his foot under the table.


	14. That Way Lies Madness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _i'm fighting hard_   
>  _to hold my own_   
>  _no, i just can't make it_   
>  _all alone_   
>  **Beggin by Madcon**   
> 

**August 16, 2014**

It’s been a little over two weeks since the big fight with Zodiac, and everything has been pretty quiet. There haven’t been any major attacks, and they’ve all fallen into a routine. Thor and Darcy cook breakfast, so Jo and Steve take care of the morning dishes. Then either Natasha or Jo trains Darcy for an hour, while everyone else goes off to do their own thing. Everyone has their own little lunch ritual. Jo knows that Steve usually makes lunch for Maria since her ribs are still broken, and Thor eats his lunch with the assassins. Darcy fixes Tony’s lunch and takes it up to him, and Jo does the same for Bruce. She normally stays with Bruce until a little before seven, when she meets up with Steve in the kitchen to fix dinner. She quizzes him on the past seventy or so years while they cook, and Clint and Natasha wash the dinner dishes. Then she dances with Darcy in Tony’s lab, until it’s time for her and Tony to go to bed.

It’s a routine that works for everyone. It’s simple and is somehow making them closer, because they eat two meals together and mingle randomly throughout the day. Natasha’s been teaching Steve how to work a computer, and he’s got more skills than Jo now. The Cap’n is a really quick learner. Thor and Hulk spar nearly every night, and Maria has started leaving her room a little more. Clint and Jo still dance whenever the mood strikes them. If she had to pick a favorite time of the day though, well…it’s probably between the hours of one and seven. The six hours she spends with the Doc are so relaxing, and they’ve started talking more. Real talking. About stuff that matters. He’s told her about the people he helped while he was on the run, and she’s talked about some of the things she did while she was retired. So they haven’t gotten into the messier parts of their lives, but she’s calling it progress. 

Unfortunately, she’s not going to get her Doc time today. 

“You two can’t go out on your own!” Tony yelled. Jo crossed her arms, and she watched the way that Steve’s jaw tensed. 

“Fury asked for us,” Steve repeated. 

“Also, they’re small-timers,” Jo pointed out. 

“You’re not going out there alone.” The assassins were standing on the sidelines but keeping quiet, and Thor looked conflicted. 

“You heard Fury, he wants to keep this small. Jo and I are the best options. No offense,” he said to the rest of the room. 

“He’s right, Tony. You, Hulk, and Thor would cause too much attention. This needs to be handled quickly and quietly.”

“Then why aren’t you two going?” Tony turned his glare on Natasha, but she didn’t seem fazed at all. 

“Because we’re still not cleared for field work,” Clint said from between clenched teeth. 

“What? Why not?”

“Tony! We don’t have time for this. Me and Cap gotta get out there now, before someone gets hurt.” 

“If we need backup, we’ll let you know,” Steve said and raised his wrist. He’s wearing a watch that’s really a comm, and Jo flicked her ear. They’re both wired and connected to JARVIS. 

“I still don’t like this.” Jo smiled a little and stood on her tiptoes to whisper in Tony’s ear and give him a quick kiss on the cheek. 

“We’ll be home soon. Ready, Cap?” He’s already dressed in his battle gear, and the dark blue suit does wonders for his physique. Maybe she should get a superhero suit. It’d be better than trashing her everyday clothes. She’ll probably have to throw the black skinny jeans and green tank top away, but she’ll bet five bucks that her steel-toes come out just fine. 

“We can take my bike.” She looked at Tony one last time, winked, and followed after Cap. Because he is Cap right now, not Steve. 

“Captain! Eris!” 

“On the way, sir!” Steve called out while dodging traffic. Jo just hung onto him a little tighter and prayed to Thor that they wouldn’t crash before reaching the bad guys. The crash won’t kill her, but it’ll hurt like hell. 

“Dynamite and Stonewall got tired of waiting and hit the bank early. Get inside, clear out civilians, and take them down.”

“Yes, sir!” It’s a little weird how they answered in perfect unison, but they’re both in “agent mode” right now. Steve pulled the bike over a block from the bank, and they both circled around to get to the back of the place. The cops have the front covered, and they need to be real careful about how they get in. 

“Are you strong enough to break through?” They’re standing at the back of the bank and looking at a cement wall, and Jo pressed her hand flat against the rough wall. 

“Yeah, I can get us through. What if it startles them?” 

“They should be at the front, with the hostages. They shouldn’t hear anything.” Jo nodded and took a step back. It’s been a while since she got to tear down a wall. Ah, the good ol’ days. 

“Cover your eyes, Cap.” She took a deep breath and swung as hard as she could, and they both watched as the wall cracked and started to crumble. Two more hits and there was a hole big enough for both of them to get through. Jo shook the dust out of her hair once they were inside, and they both held still to listen. 

“Any plans?” Steve asked. Jo looked around at the small room they were in, and she smiled when a little sunlight glinted off some metal. 

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned from Clint, it’s that the people up top tend to have the advantage.” He followed her gaze, and a small smile curved his lips.

“If this works, we’ll have to thank him.” Cap gave her a boost so she could pull the cover off, and she waited for him to crawl up behind her. They moved as quietly as possible, and Jo tried to figure out how Clint fought off the claustrophobia. This isn’t her first time in an air vent, but they always make her feel like she doesn’t have enough oxygen. 

“I can see them,” she whispered. They’re directly over the main part of the bank now, so she can see everything. They’ve got the hostages all in one area, one of them is standing close to the hostages, and the other is standing over by a covered window and peeking out. She relayed all the information to Cap and waited for his decision. She’s not really a thinker; she’s more of a doer. 

“You drop down first and secure the one next to the hostages. I’ll drop down after and take out the one next to the window. Protect the hostages at any cost.”

“You got it.” She eased the cover off and waited until the woman under her shifted. She locked her eyes on the woman’s short blonde hair and dropped straight down. The woman screamed as Jo crashed down onto her, and she vaguely registered the sound of Cap hitting the floor behind her. 

“You bitch!” The woman swung at her face, but Jo easily dodged it. The wall behind her exploded, and Jo turned wide eyes on the woman. This must be Dynamite. Who apparently has exploding fists. Awesome. 

“Language!” Jo threw out a hit of her own, and she was a little satisfied when blood flew from the woman’s nose. A few more hits and a well-aimed kick sent the woman sailing through the air, and her body crashed into the wall before falling to the ground. A quick look around showed that Cap and the guy, Stonewall, were still fighting. She’d help him, but the hostages take priority. 

“Okay, everyone, get up and follow me. I’m gonna get you out of here.” Cap and Stonewall are too close to the front door, but Jo just happens to know that there’s an escape route out the back. One of the women obviously had a broken ankle and was trying to carry her little boy, so Jo propped the little kid on one hip and wrapped her other arm around the woman’s waist. She’s gotta get these people out, now. 

“Thank you.” Jo looked at the woman as the thirty or so hostages spilled out of the hole she punched in the wall, and she tried to think of what to say. People don’t normally thank her on missions. 

“You’re welcome,” was all she could think to say as she passed the little boy over. Another hostage stepped up to the woman’s side to help her walk, and he nodded at Jo before they stepped through. Okay, now it’s time to get back to Cap. She’d just made it past the doorway into the main part of the bank when something hot hit her stomach, and she went flying backwards as parts of her were set on fire. 

“Did you really think you could take me down that easily?” Dynamite is back, and she looks pissed. 

“Is that rhetorical or do you want a real answer?” The woman’s smile turned into a sneer, and Jo raised her arms as another little explosion was hurled at her. Her skin is blistered and her tank top has been mostly burned away; she’s gotta get her one of those super suits. Jo was swinging the moment that the explosion was over, and Dynamite was so busy being on the defensive that she didn’t have time to throw out another bomb. 

Jo was winning, and then the little blonde had to go and pull a fast one on her. Jo was holding her up by the neck of her shirt, to make it easier to hit her, when she suddenly went limp. Jo should’ve known that she was faking, but she’d been putting some real power behind her punches. The moment she lowered her guard, a powered up fist crashed into her cheek and ignited. Jo could hear her own rough scream echoing in her ears as the fire burned away skin and muscle, and Dynamite was able to slip through her fingers. Jo hit her knees and let her head fall forward, and she watched as Dynamite’s shoes got closer. Once she was in grabbing range, Jo wrapped her fingers around her ankle and pulled her onto the ground. Dynamite’s body slid between her legs until Jo was sitting on her stomach, and Jo smiled down at the trapped mutant with a piece of her face still missing. 

“Who the hell are you?!” Jo had one hand locked around Dynamite’s throat, and the woman was clawing at her arm in an effort to get free. She’s not trying to blow Jo up anymore, so she must have reached her limit. That’s too bad. For her. For Jo, it’s wonderful. 

“I’m the good guy.” One punch, to Dynamite’s temple, put her down. Jo even checked her mind to make sure it was quiet, and she listened as quiet footsteps got closer to her. She knows those boots, so she slowly raised her head and tried to smile for Cap. It was a little hard since her body is still regrowing the fleshy part of her cheek. 

“You okay?” He’s got two deep cuts cutting all the way across his face and the way he’s holding himself tells her that he’s got a few broken ribs, but he’s still standing. 

“Yeah, I’m good. You?” She slowly got to her feet and shook out her arms, and it looks like they’re mostly healed now. 

“I’ve been worse.” He took her elbow to help her step over Dynamite’s unconscious body, and they both walked closer to the door as Fury’s voice started drifting through. 

“Well, I still think you’re pretty.” Steve’s laugh sounded a little pained, and she smiled over at him as Fury stepped into the bank. He took one look at them, looked at the two unconscious bad guys, and nodded. 

“Good work. We’ve got it from here.” Jo and Steve shared a look before looking back at the Director. 

“You’re welcome, sir.”

“What he said.” Jo turned on her heel to follow Steve out of the bank, and she could feel Fury’s eye on them as they calmly exited the building. They kept up perfect poker faces until they were away from all the crawling agents and gawkers, but they dissolved into laughter once they were far enough away. 

“Good work?” Steve muttered to himself once they reached his bike. 

“You know, to be the perfect soldier, you sure do have problems with authority,” Jo grinned. Steve wrapped a hand around a handlebar, and Jo took note of his other arm. Broken. In at least two places. 

“I’m not a perfect soldier,” Steve said as he gestured to the bike. He’s asking her to drive instead of trying to act all macho. She knew there was a reason that she liked Steve, and his ability to not care about gender is just one of the many reasons. 

“Then what are you?” Steve slowly got on behind her, and Jo tried not to hiss as her skin closed back up. Her cheek is going to be tender for a while. 

“A good man.” He said it quietly, like it was a secret, and Jo nodded. 

“Yeah, you really are. Now let’s get home.”

“And Jo?”

“Hmm?” She eased through traffic, and Steve had his good arm wrapped around her middle. 

“You’re a good guy too.”

“Thanks, Steve.”

“One more thing.”

“Yeah?”

“Let’s order pizza for dinner.” Jo’s laugh disappeared into the wind as she sped towards home, but she’s pretty sure that Steve heard her anyway.

**.xXx.**

“They’re back!” Darcy jumped up from her chair, where she’s been watching the monitor that shows the front door, and Bruce and Tony watched her race from the lab.

“We should go check on them,” Bruce said quietly. Tony is still mad about Steve and Jo going off on their own, but Bruce knows that he’s just worried. 

“Why? They’re both fine,” Tony said without looking away from his current project. Something about new arrows for Clint. 

“You don’t want to see Jo?” Bruce has seen them together, at dinner and just walking around. They gravitate towards one another, and they’re always touching in some small way. They move at the same time and are always reaching for each other. If it was anyone else, Bruce would swear that they were together. 

“I’ll see her later.” Tony must still be mad, but Bruce does want to go downstairs and check on them. Steve or Jo might need medical attention, and Bruce is the only actual doctor in the house. He has been teaching Clint how to stitch though. Bruce lightly gripped Tony’s shoulder before leaving the room, because he’s learning that sometimes a small little touch means more than a single word. 

Darcy, Thor, and the two assassins were already standing in the foyer around Steve and Jo when he got downstairs, so he couldn’t really see either of them. He could hear both of them talking, answering questions, so they must not be too hurt. No one seemed to notice his presence, at first, until Jo bounced up onto her toes and met his eyes over Clint’s shoulder. Her left cheek looked raw and was a dark pink, and her left eyebrow was missing. 

“Hey, Doc!” Jo somehow slipped between Clint and Darcy, and Bruce got a good look at her. The bottom half of her tank top was burned away, and her midsection had the same raw and scraped look to it. Her arms were about the same, but she was smiling. 

“Are you okay?” She looked down at herself, lightly placed a hand against her stomach, and then looked over at him. 

“Still a little fried. I hate the ones that make things explode,” she said with a smile. They’ve been talking, little by little, every day for the past two weeks. He knows that Jo dances when she walks, that she’s done horrible things that she regrets and horrible things that she doesn’t, and that she’s a little addicted to chocolate and cheesy romance novels. When she really smiles, there’s a dimple in her left cheek. (The one that must have gotten horribly burned.)

“How bad was it?” He caught sight of his hand as it raised, but he stopped himself before he touched her cheek. Jo stepped forward, and his knuckles lightly touched against the stretched and shiny skin. 

“Burned down to the bone on my face, just some burns everywhere else. It’s Steve that needs to be looked at. Some broken ribs, broken arm, cuts on his face. I know he’s a fast healer, but those cuts need to be cleaned and the bones need to be wrapped.”

“I’ll take him down to medical,” he said quietly. He can still hear the others, but Jo is standing right in front of him and he’s still touching her burned cheek. 

“Tony still mad?” 

“A little. I think he’s more worried than anything.” Jo nodded, and Bruce’s pinky finger got hooked under her jaw. 

“I’ll give him some time to calm down and go get myself cleaned up.” It was said quietly, just for him to hear, and she smiled at him before looking over her shoulder. Bruce dropped his hand, which is something he should have already done.

“Steve! The doc’s here to patch you up!” Jo stepped to the side as Steve walked towards them, and he was holding himself stiffly. 

“Thank you, Bruce.” It’s still a little strange sometimes to look at Steve. The program he was working on was meant to copy what happened to Steve, the super soldier serum, but that’s not what happened. Before, he would have said it was a complete disaster and that the program ruined his life. Now? He’s not really sure. 

“Take it easy, Steve, and I’ll take care of dinner.” Steve smiled over at Jo, and Bruce felt a hand gently brush against his before Jo’s footsteps moved farther away. 

“She’s really something,” Steve said quietly. The respect in his eyes was showing clear for anyone to see, so Jo must have really impressed him today. 

“Yeah, she is.”

**.xXx.**

Jo stayed in the shower for as long as she could, even though the hot water made her new skin sting. There’s something about lava hot water and being surrounded by steam that makes her forget about everything for a little while. Reality has to come knocking eventually though, and she eased herself out of the shower and into some loose clothes. So, her usual pajamas of Tony’s clothes. She balled her hair up so that it wouldn’t touch her cheek, which is still a little sensitive, and thought over what to do. Dinner isn’t for another several hours, so she could take a nap, but she doesn’t really want to. Well, that’s not true. She really wants to take a nap, but there’s something else she wants to do more.

“Jo!” Darcy’s big blue eyes lit up, and Jo smiled over at her. Darcy’s enthusiasm at her being alive was just adorable. 

“Hey, kid. Mind if me and Tony have some alone time?” Darcy’s head bobbed as she grabbed her book and iPod, and Tony still hasn’t turned around to look at her. His mind is whirring like crazy, so she can’t tell just how mad he is yet. Darcy paused next to her, and Jo raised her recently regrown eyebrow. 

“Do not have sex in this lab. I eat in here,” Darcy said in complete seriousness. 

“I think we’ll be able to control ourselves,” Jo said with a small twitch of her lips. 

“See you later, hot mama.” Darcy sashayed her way out of the lab, and Jo waited until she was out of sight before making her way over to Tony. She moved up onto the table and scooted over until she was sitting in front of him, but Tony made a point not to look up at her. 

“Are you really going to give me the silent treatment?” she asked after a few beats of silence. 

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” he muttered and kept working. 

“Tony, you can’t still be mad at me. Steve and I were the best ones for the job, and we’re both fine.”

“Yes, I understand that perfectly. You and Steve had everything handled. Is that why you got half your face burned off?” Jo felt her teeth grind together as she slipped off the table to straddle Tony’s lap, and she gently took his face into her hands and turned him to look at her. 

“See? I’m fine.” She can see his thoughts now, so she knows that he hacked into the bank’s security footage and kept watch over them. He saw Steve facing off against a man made of stone, and he saw Dynamite punch her and melt away a chunk of her face. 

“What if you weren’t?” Yeah, he definitely still sounds mad. 

“I’ve been on my own for years and have survived just fine, and nothing is going to keep me from coming back.” That’s a small lie, because she can’t see the future, but sometimes little lies are necessary. 

“We should have come back together.” Jo’s fingers are tangled in his hair, but he’s not touching her. It makes her feel unsettled. 

“You almost died, Tony. I think you might have actually died for a few seconds. Do you have any idea what that was like? I carried your broken body, I listened to you struggling to breathe, and your mind went completely silent. There was nothing. You were gone, and I am in no hurry to repeat that.”

“So you want to keep me locked up here?” Jo bent forward and curved her back so that her forehead was pressed against the arc reactor, and she sucked in a slow breath. 

“No, Tony, that’s not what I want.”

“Then what do you want?” Jo stayed in the same position as she thought it over, and the arc reactor felt cool against her overheated skin. 

“I want us to be a team. I need you.” Tony’s hands smoothed against her spine, and Jo wrapped her arms around his middle and locked her fingers behind his back. 

“Are you listening?” Jo nodded as Tony kept moving his hands over her back, and she moved up just enough to press her cheek against his chest. The recently burned one. Tony’s thinking about the white flash of bone as her cheek was burned, at the dark look in her eyes as she wailed on Dynamite, about her not being able to heal. He’s scared of her being alone (in a black hole) and realizing that she’s going to die alone (in the dark in the cold). 

“I’m not going to die, Tony. Someone has to look after you.”

_“I need you.”_ He can’t say it, but he can think it loud enough for it to echo in her mind until all she can hear is him. 

“Will you take a nap with me? I’m a little tired,” she whispered. Tony didn’t answer; he just stood up with her still wrapped around him. Jo held onto him as he walked to his room, and she let his thoughts overtake her own. He was thinking about how worried he’d been, for her and Steve, and about how Fury was wrong. They’re a team, and they should fight as a team. That’s how they’ll survive, and Jo agrees. Sure, her and Steve did just fine, but it would’ve been done faster if more of the team was there. 

“Is everything…?” Tony lightly touched her stomach, and Jo smiled up at him. 

“All healed. Your favorite pillow is A-Okay.” She made sure to keep looking into his tired brown eyes, because all of that worrying really did wear his genius brain out, and he slowly lowered himself down against her. Her stomach rebelled against the pressure, but she took a few slow breaths and the pain ebbed away. If Tony knows that she’s still hurting, he’ll move away and she really needs this right now. 

“I love you, Jo.”

“I love you too, Tony.”

**.xXx.**

“Dinner is served!” Darcy and Clint let out a loud cheer, and Jo ducked down in a deep bow. As soon as she straightened up, Thor swept her up into a hug and proclaimed her the perfect balance of warrior and mother, which just made the mutant laugh. Tony was laughing at the state of his bodyguard, and Bruce was smiling as he watched the way that Thor spun Jo around. Even Natasha had a small smile on her face. When she looked to her side, Steve was already looking at her and smiling.

“It is really good pizza,” he said in a quiet voice. 

“It looks like neither of you were up for cooking tonight,” Maria said in the same tone. Jo was thrown over Clint’s shoulder now, and Thor had Darcy actually sitting on his shoulder. 

“I don’t know how she does it.” Steve was looking at Jo as Natasha told them all to settle down, but Tony was egging them on. 

“She’s a mutant,” Maria shrugged. There wasn’t any kind of distaste in her tone, because she doesn’t have a problem with mutants. Unless they threaten the security of the world. Then she has a problem. 

“Have you worked with her a lot?” Steve looked back at her, and Maria wanted to shift under his gaze but couldn’t. Damn her broken ribs!

“We worked together a bit before she retired. She’s not an ideal agent, but she knows how to get the job done.” Fury only sent Jo out on the really tough missions; the ones that either required information or for someone to be terminated. Jo was Maria’s first big responsibility; she was the handler of the mutant that the younger agents called the Tank, even though Jo wasn’t really an agent. Jo never complained about the jobs and rarely asked questions. Maria can still remember the anger that burned in her eyes, and later, the way her shoulders would slump under the weight of what she was asked to do. 

“You respect her?” Maria blinked to clear away the old memories and nodded. 

“Yes. It’s hard not to.” The room was so loud that it was hard to hear the quiet pop of Natasha’s gun, but it was easy to hear Jo’s yelp as she toppled off of Clint’s shoulders. Jo easily jumped back to her feet and looked like she was gonna say something to the woman that shot her, but Thor was already quietly reprimanding Lady Natasha. Clint and Darcy were giggling like schoolgirls as Thor lectured the hardened agent, and Jo collapsed back into the chair between Tony and Bruce with a smile on her face. 

“Are you feeling better tonight?” It’s what Steve asks her every night, and it’s too endearing for her to find it annoying. Which is oddly frustrating. 

“Dr. Banner removed my stitches. I’m just waiting on the ribs now,” she answered. 

“I think turning down Tony’s miracle cure was very admirable,” Steve said and slid a plate in front of her. He’s always doing little things like that. Fixing her plates. Opening doors. Wheeling her around. Fluffing her pillows that one time. 

“I don’t know about that. Clint fainted the other day.”

“I did not faint! I slipped!” Clint’s hearing is above normal; how did he hear her with all of this noise?

“Dude, you fainted,” Jo laughed out. 

“Dude, did not,” Clint huffed out. 

“He didn’t faint. He just, uh, got dizzy?” Darcy said/asked in an effort to help. 

“Okay, so there are some lingering side effects. I’m working on it!” Tony said as the two assassins glared at him. 

“Wasn’t that hard to say no,” Maria whispered. It was said just loud enough for Steve to hear, and he ducked his head and smiled over at her. She really doesn’t get why he keeps doing that. Smiling all shy-like at her. 

“Cap’n! How’re the ribs?!” Jo asked over the loud arguing. It sounds like Natasha is threatening to cut off something vital, and Thor is trying to calm the woman down while Clint and Darcy just laugh. Bruce is scribbling on a napkin and looks completely checked out. 

“Healing!” Steve called. 

“Well, your face sure looks pretty again!” That got Tony’s attention, and he started making kissy faces down the table. Jo put him in a headlock, and Natasha crossed her arms and sat back now that she didn’t have Tony to argue with. All of these people are crazy, but they still insist on eating two meals a day together. Steve was blushing a little as Tony kept trying to catcall at him, even though Jo’s grip was pretty firm. 

“She’s right. Your face does look as pretty as it usually does,” Maria whispered. Steve’s cheeks turned a darker shade of pink, and he took a quick drink of his water. She kind of understands them now, why they insist on coming together. To the world, they’re heroes. They’re stoic and serious; they’re saviors and guardians. Here? Here they can relax and be themselves. They can argue like children and blush at little compliments. 

“Jo, Tony’s face is turning the color of a rhineshorm.” Jo let go of Tony at Thor’s odd comment and patted his cheeks, and Tony wheezed out a laugh as she apologized for making him look like a rhinestone. 

“Thank you.” Steve said it so quietly that she thought she’d imagined it, but he looked at her from the corner of his eye. 

“You’re welcome.”

**.xXx.**

“Knock, knock!” Bruce slowly looked up from his work and twisted around, and he saw Jo’s eyes first. How’d she get so close so fast?

“Hi, Jo. Feeling better?” She tapped her cheek and smiled, and he could see the dimple in her cheek. 

“All better. Mind if I crash in here for a bit? Tony’s got Darcy helping him with his suit, and I feel like being lazy.” They normally have lunch together, but they didn’t today because of her mission with Steve. Is that why she’s here? “You’re thinkin’ mighty hard, Doc. I can go if you’re busy.”

“No, no, of course you can stay. I just thought you would want to be with Tony?” They looked okay at dinner, they laughed and joked around, but Bruce knows that sometimes people keep up appearances for the sake of others. 

“Nah, we worked everything out earlier. Then we took a nap. Besides, I’ll see him at bedtime, and I missed my Doc time today.” She’s smiling at him again, in a way that makes his stomach hot and his mouth dry. 

“You’re really feeling better?” He can still see the way that her skin was stretched over her cheek and feel the heat of her hand as it brushed against his. 

“Yes, Bruce, I’m really feeling better. Wanna check me over?” Her smile was a little crooked and there was a shine to her eyes, and Bruce felt himself flush. 

“I’ll take your word for it.” Jo’s smile widened a bit more, and she turned around to walk over to the couch in the lab. 

“Such a tease, Doc. You better be glad I like you.” She flopped onto the couch, crossed her legs in the air, and closed her eyes. “So, what are you working on tonight?”

Jo seemed to sink into the couch in complete relaxation as Bruce talked about his current project, which was looking into Tony’s healing accelerant in the hopes that he could figure out when the side effects would stop. Clint fell off a table while dancing, and Natasha felt light headed while sparring with Darcy. They need to know if the two agents will be able to return to the field soon, because there is no way of knowing when someone else will attack. Jo listened to him rattle off equations and percentages, and it felt better to talk out loud. Even if all Jo does is hum and tell him how smart he sounds. (If he blushes, she has no way of knowing.) After nearly an hour of him talking and Jo humming, he pulled away from the microscope and pushed his glasses into his hair. 

“Jo?”

“Yeah, Doc?” Her voice was a little slurred, like when she’s drunk. Or really tired. 

“Can I ask you about something?” That got her eyes to open, and she let her head fall to the side. The light streaked across her cheekbone and made it shine, and he saw the burns again. Jo’s not burned. 

“Anything, Doc.” Her smile was soft, and she looked so at peace that Bruce almost changed his mind. Almost. 

“Do you remember that night we talked when you were in Scotland?” Her cheek twitched, like she was biting the inside of it, and she slowly nodded. 

“Yeah, unfortunately, I can’t get blackout drunk. I was hoping that would be one of those little things that we never mention in the light of day.” She’s smiling, a little, so she can’t be too upset at his bringing it up. 

“It’s nine at night.” She slowly lifted herself into a sitting position, and Bruce watched as she patted the spot next to her. Talking up close would be better, but there’s something about Jo that makes him…unsettled. 

“C’mon, Doc. I promise not to bite.” Her grin showed a flash of teeth, but Bruce still walked across the lab anyway. She relaxed back against the couch and raised her legs up onto the cushion once he was beside her, and she was twisted around enough that she was facing him. 

“I know it’s not my place to ask—”

“Lemme stop ya there, Doc. We’re friends, and I meant it when I said you could ask me anything. I trust you.” He can feel her looking at him, and he pressed his hands together. His fingers trailed over the pulse point in his wrist, even though he’s not worried about Hulk anymore. Old habits. 

“You said that the telepathy wasn’t right. That you were not meant to have it.” He finally looked over at her, and it was a little strange to see her without a smile. Without even a hint of a smile. Her arms are wrapped around her legs, and she’s just looking back at him. 

“I’m not a born telepath. It came…later.”

“Secondary mutations are rare.” He’s done research, and there are very few cases of a mutant developing a secondary mutation that has no direct correlation to the first one. 

“Yes, they are.” She looked down at her knees, took a deep breath, and then looked up at him again. Her eyes look a little darker than usual. “The telepathy was implanted, against my will.”

Bruce kept quiet while she explained what had happened to her, and he watched Jo as she talked. She’d only been eighteen when they found her, still a child, and Bruce knows firsthand what happens in places like that. The experimentation, the torture, and the anger that comes afterward. He can understand now why she went to work for SHIELD and earned the name Tank; she must have needed an outlet. As for how she first met Clint and Natasha, he wasn’t expecting that. She called it a failed rescue mission, but she’s still alive. 

“About a year after the implant, I couldn’t keep all the voices out. The Professor recommended Dizzy, but she wanted me to accept the telepathy when all I wanted was to shut it down. It led to a lot of fights, until she taught me how to build blocks and kicked me out on my ass.”

“What about now?” She said it herself that night on the phone, she uses the telepathy on Tony all the time. Bruce has watched them talk, somewhat, with Tony thinking and her just listening. 

“Now…I don’t know. I still hate it, I’ll always hate it, but it’s handy sometimes,” she shrugged. Her lips twitched, like she wanted to smile, but she propped her chin on her knees instead. 

“Have you thought about trying anything new?” Her head tilted to the side a bit, like she was studying him. 

“What are you thinking, Doc?”

“Tony fought a woman that can siphon energy, and you fought a woman with exploding hands. If she had hit you a little higher, your comm could have been damaged.” Jo reached up to touch her ear, where her comm is, but didn’t look away from him. 

“I’m not going to like where this is going, am I?”

“You can always say no.” Her dark green eyes rolled upwards, but she smiled at him. A real smile. 

“You want me to learn how to project my thoughts. Like the Professor, and Dizzy.” Jo straightened her legs out and let them touch the floor, and her shoulder brushed his when she sat up straight. “Are you offering to help me, Bruce? Because if you are, it means I’ll be in your head.”

“I trust you.” He held completely still as she placed her head on his shoulder, and he felt her body shift as she took a few slow breaths. 

“I don’t want anyone to know, except for Tony. I’m not good at keeping things from him, so I’m not even going to try. I don’t want the others to know though, just in case I really suck at it.” Her tone is light, like she’s only joking, but he can feel how tense she is. 

“You don’t have to do this. It’s just a thought.” 

“It’s a good thought, and you’re right. If our communications go down, we need a way to communicate. It’ll be a last resort, but we need to always be prepared. Are you sure that you’re okay with this?” He’s been thinking about it since their first lunch together, because Jo is the third telepath that he’s met but the only one that hadn’t spoken into anyone’s mind. Knowing what he does now, it makes sense. 

“I wouldn’t have brought it up if I wasn’t sure.” He felt her nod against his shoulder and lightly tapped his fingers against his knees. 

“Can we start tomorrow? I’m still a little worn out.” She sounds really tired too; she probably wants to go rest, somewhere else. 

“Of course. Whenever you’re ready.” She hummed quietly, and Bruce waited for her to stand up and leave. 

“Hey, Bruce? Do you mind just sitting here with me for a minute? I’ll leave soon, but I just want to rest my eyes for a bit before facing Tony.” She’s going to tell Tony tonight? Of course, those two are really close so she wouldn’t want to keep something this big from him for long. 

“Uh, yeah, sure.” He felt a slight pressure on his shoulder as she leaned back, and he moved with her. He rested against the couch, and Jo pillowed her head on his shoulder and let her eyes close. Bruce wasn’t really sure what to do, what was allowed, or what she wanted. “Can you read my mind now?”

“If you want me to.” 

“I want you to.” He thought about how the situation was unfamiliar and how he didn’t know what to do; he didn’t want to do anything that would make her uncomfortable, but he wanted to…comfort her too. 

“Such a gentleman, Doc.” She leaned up and grabbed his arm, and Bruce let her move him around. When she was done, her head was resting against his chest and his arms were wrapped around her. She was soft and warm against him, and she smelled like oranges and blood. Because Natasha shot her earlier. 

“Over the past several months, I’ve learned that physical contact is more comforting than anything else. Especially when you’re not used to it.” Her rough voice was quiet, so quiet that he could barely hear her, and he examined the words one by one. Logically, they make sense. Realistically, he’s still learning what they mean. 

“I’m getting there.” She shifted against him and held on a little tighter, and Bruce stopped being afraid of touching her. He let his hands settle against her instead of hovering, and she hummed in the back of her ruined throat. (It was a failed rescue mission.)

“Good to hear, Doc.”

**.xXx.**

“You should be the one in the tub.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because I’m not the one that got blown up today.”

Jo stopped washing his back, and Tony twisted around so he could lay his arms across his bodyguard’s thighs. Fingers instantly moved through his wet hair, and Tony just enjoyed the sensation for a moment. Jo looks okay, but he knows that she must be tired. She still insisted on washing his back though, and Tony has discovered that he can’t really say no to her. It’s very frustrating, and he has a feeling that Jo knows he can’t refuse her anything. Then again, she can’t really say no to him either. (Unless his safety is involved, but he’s working on that.)

“I didn’t get completely blown up. Just singed.” White bone. Dark pink muscle. Dark eyes. Bloody fists. He knows exactly what went down today. 

“Uhuh, sure.”

“Drop it, Tony.” Her eyes are closed as she plays with his hair, but her face still has a serious look on it. 

“Fine. Then let’s talk about your crush on Captain America.” That got her eyes to open, and she tightened her fingers in his hair and lifted his head up. 

“Come again?” He knew that would get her attention, but she could loosen her grip a little. 

“You wash dishes together, cook dinner together, and go out on missions together. Are you telling me that you don’t have a crush on America’s Walking Wet—”

“I do not have a crush on Steve.” It was said slowly, like she was talking to a child, and Tony smiled. 

“But you do have a crush on someone.”

“What?” Her brows were drawn together and her nose was wrinkled in confusion, and it was an adorable look on the badass bodyguard. 

“You specifically said Steve. If you were crush-free, you’d say that you don’t have a crush on anyone. C’mon, sweetheart, spill.” Jo finally let go of his hair, and his scalp felt a little tingly. He tried to scowl as he watched her stand up and move her legs out of the tub, but he wasn’t feeling it. It’s been a really long day. 

“Can we be serious for a second?” It’s just the opening he’s been waiting for. He really hopes that Jo still has that no-killing-the-boss policy. 

“Does that mean you’re finally going to tell me about that rambly drunk phone call a couple of weeks ago? Or maybe about the little convo you had with the good doctor about an hour ago? Or that adorable little cuddle?” His stern little façade broke at the end, and Jo swatted at him as he tried to climb out of the tub. She still caught him when he slipped on the water that she tracked on the tiles, but that just meant she could smack the back of his head with ease. “Ow! Okay, okay! I’m sorry! Stop it!”

“You’re a horrible person,” Jo said and let him go. She tossed a towel at his face, and the fluffy fabric wrapped around his head. Tony wrestled it off and then glared at his stone faced bodyguard. 

“You signed the no-privacy contract. JARVIS?” 

“The contract does state that privacy no longer exists between you and Master Stark, Miss Jo.” She groaned and rubbed her hands over her face, and her cheeks were flushed when she looked back at him. 

“We made up that contract after cleaning out your candy stash. I was obviously not in my right mind.”

“Still counts.”

“Shut up and put some pants on. JARVIS, did you tell Tony about my conversations with Bruce?” Tony took his time drying himself off, and he nearly slipped again when Jo threw his pajama pants at him. 

“It is the protocol, Miss Jo.”

“To tell Tony about all my conversations?”

“Only the ones that mention his name.” He grinned as Jo questioned the AI and he pulled his pants up. 

“You wouldn’t tell him if I was planning him a surprise party, would you? Because that would make me very, very, very…disappointed.”

“And I wouldn’t want that, miss.” Tony let out a laugh at that one, and Jo manhandled him out of the bathroom. Once they were back in the bedroom, Jo slipped into his closet to pull on some of his dry clothes. 

“So you know about both conversations; the embarrassing one and the one that I was going to tell you about tonight.” Her voice was a little muffled, since she’s in the closet, but he could still hear her okay. Her rough voice is good at drifting. 

“The first one wasn’t embarrassing.”

“It was for me. What do you think of the Doc’s plan?” She stepped out of the closet in another one of his tee shirts and a pair of her leggings, so it looks like their closets really are combining. 

“Are you mad at me for listening to your conversations?” He never wanted to make her mad, even though she gets this little wrinkle between her brows when she’s really mad and it’s kinda cute. In a terrifying kind of way. 

“No, not really. It saves me the trouble of repeating it all to you. So, good plan or a disaster waiting to happen?” She crawled up onto the bed and into her sleeping position, and Tony moved to lay against her like it was the most natural thing in the world. Because it is. How did he live before her? (He’s not going to think about Pepper; that way lies madness.)

“A little of both.”

“Explain.” His eyes closed as her fingers combed through his hair, and he moved closer until he was completely pressed against her side with his head on her chest. After today, he needs to hear her heartbeat. 

“There’s always a possibility that technology can fail.”

“Did that hurt to say?” 

“Little bit.”

“Good. You can continue.” He pinched her side, just enough to make her jump, and laughed a little when she flicked the top of his ear. 

“Like I was saying, technology can fail. If it does, it wouldn’t hurt to have a backup plan. I plan on doing a little research of my own, but this is all on you and Bruce.” He means that too. He has the Professor’s number, and he likes talking to the old man. He can tell that Jo feels…off when talking about him or her school days; it’s in her eyes and the way that she holds onto his hand. So he’ll call up the Professor when he knows what questions to ask, but he’ll be sure to talk to Jo first. 

“And the disaster part?” 

“Remember the phone call? Bruce wasn’t lying when he said that we all have things that we’d like to keep buried; everyone in this house has secrets that they never want told, and I’m pretty sure that Bruce’s secrets are very big. Possibly green.”

“You’re worried I’ll see the wrong thing and hate him for it? We both know that I’m not a saint, Tony.” 

“No, that’s not it. You’ve seen everything about me, the bad and the ugly, but you’re still here.” He tightened his hold just a little and listened to the steady _thump_ of her heart. (Pepper’s heart was always like a bird’s, so light and quick. Jo’s heart is like a battering ram.)

“Two hundred eight days and counting.” Tony’s thoughts paused, and he tilted his head back to look at her. Shining green eyes met his, and she smiled. 

“You’ve been counting?”

“Clint bet me that I wouldn’t make it to three hundred days, much less three hundred and sixty-five.”

“How much are you going to get?” Jo’s smile looked downright evil, and Tony filed that information away for later. 

“So what are you worried about?” 

“I am worried that you will see something, and Bruce will run. Not because of you, but from himself.”

“Then I’ll just make him stay.” Jo shrugged, and Tony gently shifted with the movement. 

“Just like that?”

“What can I say? I like the Doc.” Yeah, he knows. He can still see their little cuddle session very clearly, and he’s not sure what to think about it. Bruce looked both confused and comfortable, which he can understand. Jo’s a very easy person to cuddle with. Speaking of Jo, she’d looked perfectly content. Like she could stay in that one spot forever and never complain. He knows that eventually his bodyguard will fall in love (with someone who deserves her), but he’s not really sure how he’ll handle that. If Tony loses Jo…he’ll be lost.

“Love or no, I’ll never leave you. I meant it when I said that I’ve never loved anyone like I love you, so whoever I fall in love with, he’ll have to love you too.” Jo said it in the same way that she said nearly everything, like it was the absolute truth. He had to take a minute, not to compose himself or something ridiculous like that, but for her to start playing with his hair again. That’s all. Once her fingers started up the familiar movements, he looked up at her.

“Sounds kinky. You sure Bruce is up for it?”

**.xXx.**

When Darcy stepped out of Jo’s room, because she wanted to return her book before it got lost somewhere in this maze of a house, she was expecting to silently sneak back to the elevator. She was sneaky, but the sounds coming out of Tony’s room were anything but silent. She eased over to his bedroom door, which had a small crack in it, and held her breath as she tried to peek inside. She had to slap her hands over her mouth to keep from making a sound, and she ran to the elevator as fast as her legs would carry her. Once she was safely inside, she let all of her pent-up laughter out and held onto her aching sides.

“JARVIS? Please tell me you can get pictures of that epic pillow fight and have them sent to my room without Tony knowing?” Oh, everything hurts in the best possible way. She thought people were joking when they talked about pillow fights. She can’t believe that’s an actual thing! Also, aren’t Jo and Tony supposed to be adults?

“Of course, Miss Lewis.”

“Hey, what are they fighting about anyway?” She stepped off the elevator onto her own floor, which she is now sharing with Maria, and moved over to her room. 

“Different lifestyles, I believe.”

“Oh. Weird. Night, JARVIS!”

“Goodnight, Miss Lewis.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really had fun writing this one, because it has a little bit of everything. Some action, some humor, some angst, some fluff...yep, I think I got it all in this one. There was even a really good Jo/Bruce moment! 
> 
> So...what should Clint have to do when Jo makes it to Day 300?


	15. No Boys Allowed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _every now and then_   
>  _the stars align_   
>  _boy and girl meet_   
>  _by the great design_   
>  _could it be_   
>  _you and me_   
>  _are the lucky ones_   
>  _this time?_   
>  **Lucky Ones by Lana Del Rey**   
> 

**August 18, 2014**

“I suck so bad at this,” Jo groaned and flopped back onto the floor. Since Bruce is an awesome guy, he’s given up some of his after-lunch lab time to work on the plan. It’s only day two, but she’s already feeling like a complete failure.

“You don’t…suck. You just need more practice.” They’re sitting out on her balcony, which is where they have lunch now right before practicing, because Bruce thinks it’ll help if she’s in a familiar place. Like the lab isn’t familiar? Well, she does really like her balcony. It’s so warm. She forced herself back into a sitting position and looked over at Bruce with defeated eyes. 

“I’m not making any kind of impact. Hulk is snoring in there.” Bruce smiled at her, really smiled at her, and Jo thought she was going to fall over. It’s a good thing she’s already sitting down. 

“He fought Thor after breakfast, so he’s still sleeping it off. Hmm, maybe we should try something different?” There was a little voice, somewhere deep in the back of her mind, that said she would _love_ to try something different. This is all Tony’s fault. He keeps teasing her about her little crush and thinking really vulgar thoughts whenever her and Bruce are in the same room. She’s gonna wind up killing him. With love. 

“Different how?” Right now, they’re sitting on the floor of her balcony and facing each other. They’ll close their eyes, Bruce will calm his mind, and Jo will try to think a word at him. So far, he’s heard nothing. 

“Telepathy is strengthened by touch, right?”

_“Yes, please,”_ was her immediate thought. Looks like she’s getting better at not embarrassing herself. Well, somewhat. 

“Yeah, I think so. I can usually focus on Tony’s thoughts easier when we’re touching.” That much is true, but Tony’s thoughts are always so…fast. Unless he’s trying to get something across to her. 

“Which position would be best for you?”

_“All of them. Maybe we can make up some new ones. Stop it!”_ Oh, wow, she really needs to get this under control. The Doc is just so cute sometimes though! With his curly hair, missing buttons, and shy smiles. What’s not to like? No, wait, she’s gotta focus. Which position is best for the task at hand?

“I’m not sure. Any thoughts?” Because clearly all of her thoughts are in the gutter today. Tony was right. This is going to be a disaster, but not for the reasons he thought. 

“How are you and Tony normally touching when you listen to his thoughts? When are they the clearest?” Bruce is so smart, and his dark blue button-up is missing the top two buttons. 

“Oh, uh, normally when we’re laying down or holding onto each other.” She felt a little heat in her cheeks, and she really hopes that JARVIS isn’t playing all of this for Tony. Oh, who is she kidding? Of course he is. She watched as Bruce looked down at his knees and pinched the bridge of his nose, and she shifted a little as she waited. 

“Okay. Then we can try that, if that’s okay with you?” Okay with her? It is most definitely okay with her, but would this be considered taking advantage of the Doc? She’s doing it for the greater good, but she’s getting fringe benefits. 

“Yeah, we can try that. I guess we’ll just, uh, lay down?” Everything about this is awkward. Her palms are sweaty, her stomach is fluttery, and her face constantly feels hot. She wasn’t even this nervous when she lost her virginity. 

“Jo?”

“I’m coming.” She winced a little at the words, but Bruce is already horizontal and thankfully couldn’t see her. Where’s Natasha when Jo actually needs to be shot in the head? Well, at least they pulled down the giant couch cushion to sit on. It’s more like a futon cushion, which means it’s even more like a mattress. She really needs to stop thinking, except thinking is the whole point of this. Sweet Thor, she could really use Natasha’s perfect aim right about now. 

“Is this okay?” Normally when she lays down with Tony, they already have set positions. Tony lays on her like she’s some giant body pillow, and she’s either touching his hair or the arc reactor. Sometimes both. With Bruce, there is no set position because this is all new. The other night though, when he let her sit with him for a little while, that was…nice. So that’s what she went for. She laid on her side and scooted over into Bruce, so that she could lay her head on his chest and wrap an arm around his stomach. His arms gently came around her, like he was scared that she wouldn’t want him touching her, and she snuggled in close to show him that definitely wasn’t the case. 

“Yeah, this is good. Empty your mind, Doc.” Bruce is really warm, which is saying something because she runs a little hotter than average. He’s solid and smells like his favorite tea. Jo slowed her breathing to match his, until they were moving together. She could feel his mind just on the edge of hers, and it was easy to get into his head. Well, into parts of it. There’s a big wall at the back that she can’t get through, but what she can hear is relaxing. 

Everyone’s mind is a little different. Tony’s mind is like a hurricane constantly on the move and occasionally touching down to wreak a little havoc. Darcy’s mind is like the clear blue sky; it’s calm, soothing, and endless. Bruce’s mind is like Tony’s, but calmer. It’s like rain, constant and gentle. (Hulk is like a thunderstorm, with cracks of thunder and flashes of lightning.) She’s not trying to get into Bruce’s head though; she’s trying to get her head into his, which sounds weird but that’s how she’s explaining it. She’s trying to get a single word to pass over from her mind to his, without destroying both of them. What feels like a lifetime ago, Bruce talked her through making a box inside Tony’s mind. If she can do that and actually stop hallucinations, then she can do this. 

It’s all about the descriptions, right? Bruce said that. She heard him tell Tony that she was very good with descriptions when he explained the ABI incident to him, so that’s what she needs to do now. She needs their minds to connect, so a bridge should work. When she was a little girl, her Ma used to take her to play in the woods because the south is full of actual tress. There was a small stream with an old wooden bridge over it that Jo loved to play on, until it finally collapsed one year when she was at Xavier’s. She loved that bridge. Loved the little grooves cut into the planks, the smell of the flowers that curled around it, and the feeling of the sun soaked wood against her back. She pictured the bridge as if she was standing on one end of it, and she pictured Bruce standing on the other side. Saw the way his hair curled after he’d been running his fingers through it, the rumpled shirts that he always wears, and that shy little smile. She whispered the word and watched it drift in the air, like when she used to blow bubbles on the bridge. Just drifting and lighting up from the sun. 

“Boo?” The image fell away at the sound of Bruce’s voice, his real voice, and Jo sleepily blinked her eyes open. 

“You say somethin’, darlin’?” 

“The word is boo?” He sounds like he wants to laugh, but…

“You got it! I did it!” She’d moved so fast without even thinking about it, on pure instinct, and Bruce blinked up at her. So maybe jumping up and rolling wasn’t the best idea, but it’s not her fault that her body thought it was a good idea to straddle the good doctor. 

“Yeah, you did it.”

“C’mon, Doc, smile! It’s only been two days, and we’re already making progress!” She should probably move, but Bruce reached up to grab her hips when she jumped on him. 

“I told you that you didn’t suck,” he said with a little smile. That’s what she wanted to see, but it’s not going to make her move any faster. 

“I was just testing you,” she said with a little smile of her own. 

“So tomorrow we’ll try a whole sentence?” Jo groaned at that and slowly forced herself to get on her feet. She reached a hand down, and her stomach did that fluttery thing again when Bruce grabbed her hand and let her pull him up. For someone who used to jump at the slightest touch, he sure has come a long way. 

“I’ll ask JARVIS to come up with something witty,” she said as they moved the little mattress back onto the couch/futon. She led the way out of her room and back towards the elevator, and Bruce doesn’t startle anymore when she grabs his arm. She should probably keep the touching to a minimum considering that she just straddled the guy, but she wants him to know that she’s never afraid of touching him. 

“I’m sure you can come up with something witty on your own,” Bruce said with a gentle smile. Jo pressed the button for one floor up and tried to keep her brain in check. She failed. 

“I could always read a few lines from my current book. This one’s about a steel worker and a rich widow.” Predictably, Bruce’s cheeks flushed and he looked away from her. So cute. 

“You know those books are rotting your brain, right?” He joked! Note to self, pray to Thor later and thank him for this miraculous day. 

“Those books are _gold_ , and I don’t need a smart brain. I’ve got yours.” She couldn’t resist. She hasn’t actually touched his hair since the day after the big fight with the Zodiac, and that was only by accident. She reached up to ruffle his hair and nearly melted through the floor. It’s so _soft_. 

“I think your brain is just fine,” Bruce said as they stepped off the elevator. To the right is Tony’s lab. Bruce’s lab is on the left. Isn’t there a song or fifty about painful decisions at crossroads?

“What about the rest of me?” There he goes, getting all flustered again. There’s a special place in Hell for people like her. (What’s the Asgardian equivalent of Hell? She’ll have to google it later.) “Kidding, Doc. See you at dinner?”

“I’ll be there.” He’s still smiling at her, so that’s good. 

“Good. I’d hate to carry you downstairs in front of everyone.” She has no impulse control. Whatever controls that has been completely fried. She stretched up on her toes, used her free hand to grab his shoulder and balance herself, and pressed a quick kiss against his cheek. Then she had the good sense to walk away. “Bye, Doc!”

“Bye…Jo.” Her heart was still pumping a little faster than normal when she walked into Tony’s lab, but she did her best to look completely normal. Tony’s like a shark. He can smell weakness. Sure enough, as soon as she got close enough, he spun around on his stool and wrapped his arms around her hips. 

“Miss me?” she asked with a little laugh. His face was buried in her stomach so she couldn’t exactly hear his answer, and she lightly pulled on his hair until he pulled back and looked up at her. 

“You smell like tea and science.” His grin showed most of his teeth, and Jo not-so-lightly pulled on his hair. “Ow! No hair pulling!”

“You’re an awful person.”

“Yeah, but you still love me.” His grin was dialed down some, and Jo hefted herself up onto a table. 

“Thor help me, I do. You and all of your awfulness.”

“How’d it go today?”

“Like you don’t already know?” She picked up the apple slices he didn’t finish at lunch and popped one into her mouth. 

“I didn’t watch. I want you to tell me.”

“Okay, but first, where’s Darcy?”

**.xXx.**

Darcy stepped into the gym and took a look around, but there’s no redheaded assassin in sight. Thor and Hulk took over the gym this morning after breakfast, so she missed her regularly scheduled training time. It has to be Natasha today, because Jo said she was busy Doc-ogling after lunch. No, wait, Tony said that. Then Jo tried to beat him to death with a couch cushion. Either way, today is Natasha’s day. So where is the assassin? She better get here soon; Darcy’s even wearing her special work-out clothes, which are shorty shorts and a sports bra covered with a tank top. It was Jo’s suggestion. Footsteps sounded behind her, and she whirled around to face…

“Clint?” He’s wearing loose black basketball shorts and a plain gray tee shirt, and he still somehow looks absolutely delicious. This house is ridiculous, because everyone is ridiculously attractive. It’s just not fair. 

“Hey, Darce!” Next time, she’s gonna help Jo with killing Tony, just for starting that stupid nickname. 

“Where’s Natasha?” Clint’s feet are bare, and why is that such a noticeable thing? Maybe it’s because his feet are connected to his calves, but that shouldn’t be such a big thing either. How can a guy’s calves be attractive?

“I dunno. She said something about Steve and hacking into Interpol, and then she threatened to shoot me if I didn’t come down here to train you.”

“I thought she only shot Jo?” Clint lifted his arms to start stretching, and Darcy tried not to look at the strip of skin that the move revealed. Tried. 

“Jo’s just her favorite. So, show me what you’ve learned.” This is not going to end well, not at all. The last time she was alone with Clint was…right after he woke up with her snuggled up to him in his hospital bed. Jo, the traitor, had snuck out at some point and left her alone. Awkward does not even begin to cover the situation; him barely clothed, her small drool patch on his shoulder…she had to do a walk of shame! And she didn’t even get to have the good bits that go with a walk of shame! “And, Darcy?”

“Yeah?” She rolled her shoulders and popped her neck, just to release some tension. 

“I’m not going to go easy on you.” His smile is teasing, like when they joke around at meals, and she felt her nerves settle some. 

“Bring it, bird boy.”

**.xXx.**

“O’ captain, my captain!” Steve looked over his shoulder at her greeting, and Jo felt a sense of accomplishment when she saw the slight blush on his cheeks. She has got to get everyone to sing to him, and the word “captain” has to be in the song.

“You’re late,” Steve said and handed her a spoon. Jo hopped up onto the counter, right next to the stove, and looked down into one of two giant pots. Mmm, spaghetti. Enough of it to feed an entire army. Or just enough to feed a god, a Hulk, a super soldier, two mutants, three agents, and a scientist who keeps forgetting to eat (even when it’s literally placed right in front of him). 

“Tony and I were testing out his new suit,” she said and started stirring. Sweet Thor, it all smells so delicious. 

“How’s that going?” Steve sprinkled in some spices that made Jo’s mouth water, and she wondered if Steve would look away long enough for her to sneak a taste. 

“So far so good. He’s making a tracker thing that can call it to him, and it’s holding up pretty good. Feeling better today?” It’s been two days since their mission, so he should be healed up. Steve lightly patted his side and smiled over at her. 

“I’m okay.” She knows that he’s a quick healer, but she still feels a little better now that she’s got verbal confirmation. 

“Glad to hear it, Cap’n. Now, about our schooling, I think we’re pretty much done. There’s still some pop culture stuff, but you’ve got the history down.” Steve’s brain is like a sponge; it absorbs everything. 

“Good, because I would like to do something different tonight.” Jo stopped inhaling the delicious scent of their future meal and looked over at Steve, who was shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Steve is a soldier. He doesn’t shift. 

“Yeah, whatever you want. Everything’s okay, right?” As a general rule, Jo doesn’t read anyone’s mind without their permission. (Tony doesn’t count because that no-privacy contract works both ways.) Situations like this make it very difficult to follow that one little rule though. 

“Maria wanted to thank me for all the help—”

“Sounds like Maria,” Jo muttered. Don’t get her wrong, she’s got a lot of respect for the agent. The woman did look after her ass for several years, and they worked their way up through SHIELD’s ranks together. “Sorry. Continue.”

“She told me that SHIELD wanted me to see a therapist, but that Fury said my psyche evaluation passed. Barely,” Steve said with a little smile. The man sacrificed his life, froze to death, and was then revived after seventy years. No one would be okay after that. 

“Uhuh.” She gets what he’s saying, but she has no idea where this is going. 

“Maria suggested that I talk to someone outside of the agency, but I don’t want to give some stranger my whole life story. I would rather talk to someone that I trust. On and off the battlefield.” Oh, wow, that’s…big. Then again, she’s one of the few people outside of the agency that he actually knows. Him and Tony get along better now, but she can understand why he wouldn’t want to confess all to Tony. They didn’t exactly start off as the best of friends. 

“You sure you want it to be me? I won’t tell anyone what you tell me, but I’m not…I’m, uh, people don’t usually come to me for this sort of thing.” 

“Tony does,” Steve shrugged. Tony didn’t really have much a choice at first, but she’s not going to explain all of that to Steve. She’s not really sure how to explain her and Tony. 

“Fair enough. Whenever you want to talk, I’m here. Did you want to talk about anything tonight?” Steve stirred the pots one more time and then leaned against the opposite counter so that he was facing her. 

“I want to tell you about a friend that I lost in the war. His name was Bucky.”

**.xXx.**

Dinner that night was a normal thing. Clint and Jo had a sword fight with the garlic bread, Natasha shot Jo, Thor caught Jo before she could hit the ground, Darcy fed garlic bread to Jade, Tony yelled too much, Bruce ignored them all, and Steve and Maria watched them all like amused and slightly disapproving parents. So, the usual. Darcy’s not sure when they got to a point that they could have a usual dinner night, but here they are. Dinner’s starting to wind down though, and they’ll all separate soon enough. She’ll go back to the lab with Tony, with Jo probably tagging along. The assassins will do whatever assassins do when they’re not assassinating, and Steve will wheel Maria back to her room before doing whatever he does at night. Bruce will either spar with Thor or go back to the lab, and that’ll be the end of it.

“C’mon, sweetheart. Daddy has a few more things to finish up before bath time.” Darcy thought Tony was joking about the back washing thing when he first told her, but he wasn’t lying. 

“I am not calling you daddy,” Jo said and got to her feet. 

“Thor, do you feel like a spar tonight?” Steve asked. He was already standing behind Maria’s wheelchair and looking down the table at the resident god. Huh, Steve normally doesn’t ask for a spar after dinner. 

“I would be most honored, Steve.” Everyone was talking and starting to move around, and Darcy steeled her nerves. She talked this over with JARVIS, and the genius level AI agreed that it was a good idea. 

“Wait!” The movement in the room came to a stop, and she could feel several pairs of eyes on her. Even the chicken is giving her a curious look. She placed her palms flat on the table and slowly pushed herself to her feet. 

“Are you well, Darcy?” Thor is such a nice guy; she’ll have to remember to hug him later. 

“Yeah, I’m good. I’ve just been thinking, the only time that we’re ever all together is when there’s food involved, so, uh…hmm.”

“What are you thinking, kid?” That’s kind of funny coming from the telepath. 

“I think we should do team building stuff. Nothing big, just little stuff,” she shrugged. She had a big speech prepared about unity and trust building exercises, but her head is a little empty now that everyone is just staring at her. 

“Like what?” Natasha asked. Darcy is eighty-six percent sure that Natasha likes her, most days. 

“Movie nights, game nights, maybe something outside?” she suggested. 

“Can we play tag?” Clint looks like a little kid on the playground who had way too much sugar; his eyes are too bright and he’s a little twitchy. 

“You remember how our last game of tag went, right?” The archer looked over at Jo with a smile firmly in place. 

“You fell off the copter all on your own, Josie.”

“You’re going down, Clinton.”

“I am unfamiliar with this game,” Thor said and looked down at her. 

“I’ll explain it you,” Darcy said with a smile. 

“We can play tomorrow at one, after lunch,” Steve said in a tone just under his Captain voice.

“Can Hulk play? I think he’d enjoy it more than I would,” Bruce said quietly. 

“Of course he can,” Steve answered for all of them. 

“I’ve got the perfect venue!” Tony yelled and walked off. He was muttering under his breath, and Jo gave them all an apologetic look before hurrying after him. Thor left with Steve and Maria, because of the spar, and Darcy leaned back against the table. Jade lightly pecked at her arm, so she reached over to pet the chicken. 

“I think you’re right,” Clint said from right next to her. It made her jump a bit, which only made him smile. Natasha walked out of the room carrying a stack of plates, and Clint was picking up the plates from her side of the table. 

“Right about what?” Jade’s feathers are so soft, and she’s such a chill chicken. 

“About the team building stuff. It’ll be good for us.” Clint knelt down next to her, and Jade fluttered over onto his shoulder. It takes a real man to walk around with a chicken on his shoulder. 

“You think so?” Everyone seemed pretty excited about it, but this could end up being a complete disaster. 

“I know so.” Clint gave her a little wink before sauntering out of the room, and Darcy took a minute to compose herself. Only a minute though. She’s gotta get to the lab before Tony blows something up. Again. 

**August 19, 2014**

“Tony?” He looked away from the amazing view and turned to see who was talking to him. 

“Yes, Natasha?”

“Please tell me that you did not buy the football stadium.” The others were still climbing out of the limo that he rented for the day, and he could hear the loud whoops coming from Jo and Clint. Possibly Darcy and Thor. 

“I did not buy the football stadium. I rented it for the day and promised to repair all damages,” Tony said just as Jo reached his side. They drew straws before leaving the house earlier, and Jo got stuck with the short straw. That means his bodyguard is “it” first, and he’s kinda looking forward to how this is going to go. 

“What’s with the giant lifeguard chairs?” Darcy asked and stopped at his other side. Flanked by his two favorite girls? Maybe this team building thing is worth missing lab time. 

“Someone has to referee all of you, so me and Maria will be watching to make sure that no one cheats.”

“And how am I supposed to get up there?” Maria is still in her wheelchair, and Steve is eyeing the really tall chair like it just insulted America. 

“Bruce? Think Hulk can give us a hand?” Maria’s eyes widened, but she didn’t say anything. Bruce looked at Maria, looked at Tony, and looked back at Maria. 

“He won’t hurt you,” Bruce finally said. Tony knows that Bruce is still worried about people’s reaction to Hulk, and he might even still be worried about Hulk despite all the progress they’ve had. Old habits and everything. 

“I know,” Maria said with a little nod. Tony’s gotta hand it to the agent, she said it in a strong voice and direct eye contact. Is Agent Hill afraid of anything? He could hear everyone talking around him, Clint was teaching Thor the art of smack talking but it sounds like Thor has got that down already, and Natasha is thanking Darcy for the good idea. Bruce is starting to disrobe, to prepare for Hulk, so Tony swung an arm around Jo’s shoulders and pressed their temples together. 

_“One button, two buttons, three buttons…”_

“I will kill you.” The bodyguard’s voice was murderous, and Tony turned to hide his smile against the side of her head as he kept “talking” to her. 

_“Ooh, a roll of the shoulders and the shirt is gone. He’s reaching for the zipper…pants are going down in three, two, o—”_

“LET’S GO!” Jo’s yell was right in his ear, and Tony jumped back from her. Okay, he might have deserved that, but Jo’s smug little smile is not necessary. 

“Ready to get your ass kicked, Josie?” Clint asked before sprinting past her. He didn’t realize the archer was so fast, and Natasha was starting to pass him. 

“I’m ready to stomp a mudhole in your lily white ass!” Jo yelled back. Tony could hear Clint laughing even from this distance, and Jo and Darcy were walking on either side of Thor after the assassins. 

“Help Hill?” Hulk sounds like he’s still waking up, and Tony turned around to see Maria’s action. She just smiled up at Hulk, and Steve quietly thanked the big guy. As if being scared of frightening of anyone, Hulk slowly eased himself down onto his knees in front of Maria’s wheelchair. He held a giant hand out, and Steve lifted Maria up and gently placed her into Hulk’s palm. The big guy was slow to stand, and Tony followed after Hulk once Maria told Steve to join the others. Tony waited for Hulk to place Maria in her padded chair and then smiled up at him. 

“Mind helping me up?” Hulk huffed, but he still scooped Tony up and dropped him into his chair. Looks like he saved the gentleness for Maria. “Hulk! Flatten ‘em all.”

“I will,” Hulk grinned and moved off to join the others. 

“They’re going to kill each other,” Maria stated calmly. 

“All in good fun,” Tony said and waved a hand. Darcy’s idea was pure genius; they live together, they eat together, they’ve fought together, and now it’s time for them to play together. What’s the worst that could happen?

“I am going to murder you!” See? They’re having fun already! Tony slid his sunglasses on and settled down to watch the show.

**.xXx.**

Tony’s sunglasses were lost in his hair and Maria was gripping the arms of her seat as they edged close to the end of the third hour on the field. They’d come full circle with Jo as “it” once again, and all of the players looked like they’d been in a war. Workout clothes were torn and bloody, the women had loose hair falling around sweaty faces, and everyone was breathing hard. The two assassins circled around Jo, both were light on their feet and kept ducking back from the mutant’s powerful swings. Jo suddenly moved into a run, and the two assassins dived out of the way. Darcy yelped as she scrambled to move, but Jo was running like a freight train. Right before crashing into Darcy, she hooked a hard left and leapt into the air. She hit Thor in a flying tackle, and the two of them went rolling across the green grass.

“She got ‘im!” Tony and Maria had both jumped at the sudden tackle, and Maria was holding her ribs with a small smile. 

“She really did.” The stadium looked like a tornado had hit it. The grass was torn up, and there were a few lines of broken seats. One was from Thor hitting Hulk, then Jo threw Steve, who threw her, and Thor ripped out one of the field goals when Hulk threw him at it. 

Hulk was nice enough to pick Jo up, and she helped Thor stand up in return. Tony could see the god’s wide smile from his seat, and Jo and Thor gripped each other’s forearms and said a few words. Probably thanking each other for the good battle. Jo said something up to Hulk, and the big guy scooped her up and dropped her onto one wide shoulder. The assassins were smiling at Darcy, who had one hand over her heart and was laughing, and Steve was standing next to Thor now. Tony watched as Hulk slowly walked over to them, and they were just high enough to be a little over his direct line of sight. 

“So, boss, how’d we do?” Jo was slumped against the side of Hulk’s head, and the big guy didn’t look phased at all. 

“I give it an hour and it’ll break YouTube.”

“Aw, don’t tell me you uploaded it.”

“He did.” Tony glared over at Maria, because he thought they’d bonded over the past three hours while their housemates tore up an entire football stadium. Jo just groaned and wrapped her arms around Hulk’s head, and he poked at her knee until she let him go. To be fair, her arms were covering his eyes. 

“Excuse me!” All four of them turned as one towards the yell, and three teenagers loaded down with pizza stared up at them. 

“This your doing?” Jo was looking directly at him, and Tony just shrugged. 

“Put them over there by that Hulk sized crater!” he called down. “Can you get us down, Hulk?” 

“Are your legs broke?” Hulk asked as Jo helped Maria shimmy into Hulk’s open palm. 

“Nope.” Tony jumped into the waiting hand and turned wide eyes up at Hulk. “But my heart is.”

Twenty minutes later, they were all settled into a circle and happily munching on a giant mound of pizzas. Three teenagers now had stories to tell and a few autographs, and the sun was warm. Maybe he should go outside more. Then again, he’s pretty sure that his more “super” friends won’t be tackling each other every time they go outside. Shame. He does have a lot of work to do too, which he’s been working on a little when his attention wasn’t focused on all the playful violence. Jo poked his cheek and pointed at his food, and he resisted the urge to think naughty thoughts about Bruce. His fellow scientist was sitting on Jo’s other side and only wearing a pair of shorts. Coming up with something to make his bodyguard all flustered would be a little too easy, but…Jo did good today. (She’s his bodyguard. He had to cheer for her.)

“Ugh, why does everything hurt? I’m supposed to be a super healer now, right?” Darcy was laying back in the grass, but her legs were draped across Thor’s lap. Thor had a pizza box balanced on top of her shins, and Clint leaned over to look at her face. 

“Look okay to me,” he mumbled around a bite of pizza. 

“A lot of healing at once will make you sore for a little while sometimes. You didn’t get banged up that much, so you should be fine in an hour or two,” Jo explained. They did go a little easy on Darcy, even though her healing is on par with Jo’s. Hulk, Thor, Steve, and Jo are the only ones that got really thrown around. Natasha and Clint don’t even look all that banged up. 

“Got any other bright ideas, kid?” Darcy raised her head up just enough to see him, and she does look a little tired. 

“Girls night?”

“I think I’ll sit that one out,” Tony said and took another bite of his pizza. Wait, his hands are shredding a piece of grass. Oh, that’s Jo’s hand. Jo’s feeding him now. 

“I’d be okay with a girls night,” Jo said with a bright smile. She wiggled the slice of pizza until he took another bite, and Tony glared as he chewed. 

“It would be…interesting.” Natasha and Jo just looked at each other, as if realizing that they were agreeing to spend even more time around one another. Tony really doesn’t get those two; Jo will tease Natasha until Natasha shoots her, and Natasha seems to get a small measure of joy out of seeing Jo bleed. Yet, Natasha worried about Jo when she was compromised. It’s strange. 

“I think it sounds fun,” Maria said with a quick glance at Jo and Natasha. 

“Tonight?” Darcy sounds so excited, like a little girl getting ready for her first sleepover. 

“Tonight it is, but I’m taking a nap first. I think I broke something earlier,” Jo groaned and stretched enough to make her back pop. 

“I’ll get everything we need,” Darcy said quickly. 

“Does that mean we’re having a guy’s night?” Clint asked. 

“Yes!” Tony blinked as he looked around at the four women, and all of the men looked as confused as he felt. Well, he’d better get back to the lab soon because it looks like his night is all booked up.

**.xXx.**

“Ready?” Jo paused next to Tony, who just looked up at her with wild and slightly panicked eyes.

“Can’t I just stay in the lab?” She looped her arm through his and pulled him off of his stool, and Tony’s feet drug across the ground a little as she walked. She was still pulling Tony along when they met up with Bruce, and she watched the way that his eyes flicked over both of them with a hint of amusement. 

“You’re just gonna be playing skittle poker and shootin’ the shit with the guys. What’s so hard about that?”

“I don’t wanna.”

“You can ask people to live with you, but you don’t want to spend an evening with them?” She pushed Tony into the elevator and followed in after him, and she smiled up at Bruce as he pushed the button for the first floor. 

“I gave them a place to live. Isn’t that enough?” She didn’t glare over at Tony, it was a little softer than a glare. A little. 

“You can be sociable for a night, and try not to offend anyone too much.” He’s such a wonderful man, and a complete asshole. She’s not really sure how manages to be both. 

“Do you want me to start calling you hot mama too?” There’s the smile she’s been looking for! 

“You can if you want, but I’m still not calling you daddy.” Tony’s smile turned into a little smirk, and she lightly knocked her shoulder against him before spinning on her heel. Now she’s facing the scientists and the elevator doors are open behind her. This is her stop; the boys will continue on down to the basement, and over to the arcade.

“Killjoy.” She ignored that little comment and turned towards Bruce. 

“Keep an eye on him. If he tries to sneak out, restrain him.” Tony squawked, which almost made her lose her cool composure, and she could tell that Bruce was fighting a smile too. 

“I’ll do my best.” She lightly pulled on Tony’s hair to pull him down as she rocked up onto her toes, and she smacked a kiss against his forehead. She used her already swaying momentum to swing over and press a quick kiss against Bruce’s cheek, and she waved to both of them as she walked backwards out of the elevator. 

“Have fun tonight, boys!” Tony was laughing and Bruce was blushing when the doors closed, and Jo spun around to walk forwards. She was still smiling, and not just because the Doc’s stubble made her lips all tingly, when she reached the dining room door. There was a giant sign taped to one of the doors and in big bold letters were the words, **NO BOYS ALLOWED**. That’s definitely Darcy’s handwriting. 

“You’re late,” was the first thing she heard after walking inside. Natasha and Maria were already sitting at the table, and Darcy was standing in front of her and to the side a little. Jo had a comeback, she really did, but her eyes were glued to the table. Giant bottles of various sodas and energy drinks were peeking out of several coolers, and there was an enormous mound of candy on the table. 

“Suicide by sugar?” Jo asked and finally looked at Darcy. Her big blue eyes are so shiny and bright, and Jo loves that she’s so happy. Sometimes she thinks about the girl she found at Starbucks; the one with dull eyes and a broken arm. Best not to think about that. They’re here to have fun tonight. 

“Alcohol is outlawed, so I had to improvise. JARVIS told me everyone’s favorite drinks and snacks, so, voila!” Darcy said and spread her arms wide. There’s enough sugar in this room to kill a house full of people. Jo let Darcy lead her over to a chair and even let her push her into it, and she didn’t miss the way that Natasha’s lips twitched. She wants to smile, Jo knows it. 

“What are we doing first?” Maria asked. She’s sitting in an actual chair instead of her wheelchair, and she’s got her elbows planted on the table. It’s a little funny seeing the serious agent in her midnight blue PJs. (Pajamas were a requirement, which was really easy to fulfill because she’s been wearing a pair of loose shorts and one of Tony’s tee shirts since her shower.)

“First up is Never Have I Ever, so we can get to know each other. If you’ve done the thing, you take a shot of something sugary. Drink, candy, I don’t care.” Darcy passed out tumbler glasses, so a shot is actually bigger than a shot. Good fun. 

“I’ll go first!” Jo said and rolled the glass between her palms. “Never have I ever…shot someone in the head.”

“Playing dirty already, Holbrook?” Natasha asked as she filled her tumbler with something red and syrupy looking. 

“I’m not even a little surprised,” Maria said with a pointed look and poured in an energy drink. 

“You’ve never shot someone in the head?” Darcy asked. Jo leaned back in her chair and smiled at the new mutant. (It’s good to have another mutant around.)

“Nope. I don’t like guns,” she shrugged. “Who’s next?”

Never Have I Ever turned into Truth or Dare and by the end of the second hour, they were all giggling like schoolgirls from the extreme sugar rush. Jo’s body didn’t see the sugar as a threat, so it wasn’t flushing her system. It looked like Darcy’s healing had the same idea, because they were just as giggly and red faced as the two human agents in the room. Jo was slumped against the table with her cheek pressed against the wood, and she was using her tongue to bring a gummi worm closer. Darcy was leaned back in her chair with her feet propped up on the table, and she was tossing skittles into the air. (More landed in her cleavage than in her mouth, but who cares?) Natasha was actually sitting on the table and stacking up cans, but she kept knocking them down whenever she laughed too much. Maria was the only one sitting upright, because of her ribs, and she was happily popping small bits of chocolate into her mouth. 

“So, can we talk about how ridiculous this house is?” Darcy asked and flung another skittle into the air. It crashed against the towering tower of cans, and Natasha pouted a little as it collapsed. Again. 

“It’s huge,” Jo groaned out and finally snagged the gummi worm.

“It’s Stark,” Maria countered. She’s got a point. 

“Not the _house_. The _people_ in the house. Why is everyone so, so, so…”

“Hot?” Maria supplied. Jo snorted out a laugh, and she could hear Natasha humming a little. 

“I can’t be the only one who’s noticed. All of you have eyes.” Darcy tossed a skittle at her, and Jo’s eyes crossed as it bounced off her nose. “You even see Tony naked on a regular basis. Naked, Jo. Naked.”

“He does look good naked,” Jo mused. What? Just because they’re not sexually attracted to each other doesn’t mean that she can’t recognize the fact that her boss is super attractive. Ha! Super. 

“Mhmm,” Natasha hummed and drained another can to add to her tower. 

“You’ve seen Stark naked?” Maria leaned forward a little, and Jo tilted her head to watch the way that Natasha’s eyes narrowed and widened. 

“Oops. That’s confidential. No, I haven’t.” Natasha waved her hand, like in a dismissal, and Jo laughed. That got her a little glare from the assassin, but she hasn’t been shot at all tonight. “Got your eye on someone, Darce?”

“Me? Pfft! No.” Oh, that’s definitely a lie. 

“You’re a worse liar than Jo.”

“Not true, Maria. I’m the worst liar ever. Director Fury said so,” she slurred. Her veins feel like they’re on fire; she wants to run around and sleep forever. 

“I know who it is,” Natasha said, all regal-like. Her shoulders were back and her chin was lifted, so it’s regal like. 

“No, you don’t. Because there is no one.” Jo groaned as she pushed herself off of the table, and she slumped back in her chair so that she could see Darcy’s face. Darcy doesn’t want to say, because she doesn’t want to be the only one to admit something so embarrassing. It’s a surface thought, so Jo doesn’t feel too bad about hearing it. 

“I like the Doc. His hair is all curly and he never buttons his shirts right. He smells like tea, and his alter ego is _green_ ,” Jo said with a big grin. 

“Did Jo just say she has a crush on Bruce?” Maria whispered. It was a very loud whisper. 

“Yes.” Natasha didn’t even try to whisper. 

“It’s just…” Darcy huffed and crossed her arms, and the other three women just waited. “He has those arms, you know? And his eyes are never the same color, and who has a chicken as a pet and still looks cool?”

“Clinton!” Jo yelled. Natasha was already laughing and surrounded by fallen cans, and Darcy’s cheeks were flushed. Jo lightly patted her shoulder in the universal “there-there” gesture. 

“Steve’s jawline is poetic,” Maria said into the dead quiet room. Jo looked at Darcy, who then looked at Natasha, who looked at Jo…and then all three exploded into laughter.

**.xXx.**

“How do you always win?” Clint asked and looked up at Thor. The big god was putting skittles into his mouth by the handful, so he just smiled with his cheeks puffed out and shrugged.

“You’re the one that taught him how to play,” Tony pointed out. Skittle poker wasn’t as bad as he thought it was going to be. They played, they traded jibes, joked a little…it was, fun. He’s not going to admit it to Jo though; her smug smile is too much for him to handle after losing a poker game to the God of Thunder. He might admit it tomorrow. 

“We all lost fair and square,” Steve said with a little smile. Okay, so, Tony had been very wrong about Captain Apple Pie. Under all that patriotism, he’s actually a very sarcastic and witty guy. They understand each other a little more now, and tonight helped with that. A little. 

“But we lost to a god,” Bruce pointed out with a small smile. Tony’s not sure if it’s just because he’s living in an actual house with people who accept him or if it’s Jo’s continued liberal use of touching, but something is bringing Bruce out of his shell little by little. 

“Should we check on the girls?” Clint asked. Thor finally swallowed what looked like an entire packet of skittles and let out a small breath. Smells like the rainbow. 

“I would like to make sure that Darcy is well.” Tony’s not worried about Jo, because he knows that his bodyguard can hold her own, but he doesn’t want to miss the chance to see her in a compromising position. 

“We should definitely check on the girls. Come on, Bruce!” He grabbed a fistful of the doctor’s shirt over his shoulder and pulled him along, and Bruce quickly moved to walk beside him. Tony let him go with a smile and waited for Bruce to finish righting his shirt, and he could hear the other three men of the house laughing behind them. Perfect. “So…Jo.”

“She’s your bodyguard,” Bruce said quickly. Too quickly. 

“She is. She’s also your lunch buddy, and you two are doing that telepathy thing. How’s that going?” 

“I know she tells you everything,” Bruce said with a side look. 

“She does. Tell me everything, that is, but I want to hear your side. What do you think about her?” Bruce is a little hard to read sometimes, because he doesn’t react like most people. Then again, none of them really do. 

“I think she’s doing very well. I understand her reluctance, because of what happened to her, but she’s very…strong.” Bruce is wringing his hands again, which Tony knows is just him checking his pulse. Hulk used to come out whenever his pulse got too high, but it’s not like that anymore. Old habits?

“She’s definitely strong. The first time I saw her, I thought Fury was crazy. She just looks so soft, you know?” Bruce’s jaw twitched, just a little, and he let his hands fall by his sides. 

“The first time I saw her was through Hulk’s eyes, standing on a rooftop and waiting to get blown up. She looked strong to me,” Bruce said and turned to look at him. Damn. All five of them eased into the elevator, which meant that Tony couldn’t try to figure out Bruce’s stance on his bodyguard anymore. Maybe later. 

Tony could hear the loud laughter before they reached the dining room, and he took in the sign with a feeling of extreme humor. Darcy would put up a “no boys allowed” sign. The four different laughs were distinct but blending together perfectly, and Clint was already giggling quietly. Probably imaging his life partner laughing like a loon. Thor was smiling too, because he’s happy anytime that Darcy is. Steve huffed and mumbled something about Maria promising to take it easy, because Steve is the ultimate mother hen. Him and Jo never should have been allowed to join forces; they’re talking about making heart healthy dinners for people who can’t even get clogged arteries. 

“Are they wasted?” Tony asked, mostly to himself. 

“Alcohol is forbidden in the house, so I doubt it,” Steve said quietly. 

“Forbidden?” Tony asked, to everyone. Clint wouldn’t meet his eyes, Bruce shuffled, and it was Thor that answered. 

“Lady Jo requested that no mead be brought into the home,” he recited. Bruce looked at him then, and Tony got it. Jo doesn’t allow alcohol in the house, for him. What did he do to deserve her again?

“It sounds like they’re still in full swing, so we should leave them to it,” Clint said and turned around. Yeah, that sounds good. He’s starting to feel a little tired anyway. 

He’s not sure how much time passed between getting ready for bed and listening to Jo stumble into his bedroom, but it felt like a lifetime. Jo has her own room, but she never sleeps there. It’s a good thing, because apparently he can’t fall asleep without her lying beside him. He watched her silhouette sway as she got closer to the bed, but she knelt down beside it instead of climbing up next to him. He was about to ask her what she was doing, but she reached out and started running her fingers through his hair. She must think that he’s asleep, and she must be really out of it if she’s not using her telepathy to check and see. 

“I used to think I was unlucky, you know? ‘Cause I got picked up by ROSE the first time I ever went off on my own, and I…I lost myself. I’ve been a stranger for so long, and then you came along. Tony-fucking-Stark. I didn’t like you; you were an asshole, too rich, had an ego the size of the Grand Canyon, and your tech blew me up once. But, I get it now. I get it, Tony.”

She paused and took a slow breath, and Tony held perfectly still. They know these things, but they don’t really talk about it. They just accept it. 

“You are my good luck. If I hadn’t, if you hadn’t…if we had missed each other, I’d still be a stranger. There’d still be a stranger living under my skin, and you’d probably be dead. This whole time, everyone’s thought that I’m the strong one that keeps saving you. Which I am, because I am a kickass bodyguard, but they’re wrong too. You saved me too, Tony. I don’t feel like a stranger anymore.”

Fingers combed through his hair one more time, and he listened to Jo stumble her way towards the bathroom. Once she was gone, he let out a pent up breath and tried to process what just happened. He saved his savior? He saved the mighty Jo Holbrook? Jo came back into the bedroom and wiggled her way up the bed, and she slumped against the bed next to him. He felt her tugging on him until he rolled over into their usual sleeping position, and her body completely relaxed once they were pressed together. So, she needs him just as much as he needs her. The thought should be worrying, because of all those co-dependency issues, but it’s more comforting than anything. 

_“We’ll never be lost again.”_

**.xXx.**

“You dudes are the best,” Darcy hummed. Thor is carrying her like she’s a little kid, all effortless and stuff, because he’s the best.

“Always so nice. And blonde,” Maria added. Steve is walking very slow to make sure that he doesn’t jostle her too much and hurt her ribs, and Darcy thinks that is just adorable. Also, Maria was totally right. Steve’s jawline is poetic. But so is Thor’s hair. 

“I love your hair,” Darcy said and reached up to pat the top of Thor’s head. The god smiled down at her, enough to make his eyes crinkle, and the look made her feel all happy inside. Jane is so dumb. So so dumb. 

“Thank you, Darcy. I am quite fond of your hair as well.” He held her up with one arm, _one arm_ , and patted the top of her head like she’d just done for him. He truly is a god. 

“Do I have good hair?” Maria mumbled. Steve looked over at Darcy and Thor for help, but Darcy was too busy trying to brush Thor’s hair with her fingers. 

“You have perfect hair, ma’am.” 

“You’re so polite. Isn’t he so polite, Darcy?”

“The politest,” she agreed. Darcy and Maria called out goodnights as they were taken to their separate rooms, and Darcy giggled as Thor laid her on her bed. The mattress was soft, like marshmallows. 

“Sleep well, Darcy,” Thor whispered as he pulled her blanket up to her chin. She knew going to the girls night in pajamas was a good idea. 

“Nighty night, Thor.” He quietly closed the door behind him, and Darcy snuggled down into her blankets. She’s sure about two things. One: girls night was a huge success. Two: she’s gonna have one hell of a sugar hangover tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there was a touch of seriousness at the end, but this chapter was mostly fluffy. The next chapter will not be so fluffy, so enjoy this one. Fluff will return though, because it's all about balance. I just wanted to give everyone a pre-warning. 
> 
> If there's any questions about anything, I'd be happy to answer them!


	16. All Is Well

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _don't you dare look out your window, darling_   
>  _everything's on fire_   
>  _the war outside our door keeps raging on_   
>  _hold on to this lullaby_   
>  _even when the music's gone_   
>  _gone_   
>  **Safe & Sound by Taylor Swift & The Civil Wars**   
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: there is some violence in this chapter that gets a little graphic

**August 20, 2014**

Jo’s bedroom door was open, like it usually is, so he quietly walked into the room. He has an alarm set now to remind him of when it’s time for lunch, because he felt bad about making Jo come all the way to the lab to get him. The bed was rumpled, but it always looks like that. Jo’s room has a feel to it, like it’s actually lived in, unlike his own room. What would the others think if they knew that he spent most nights on the lab’s couch than in his own bed? (What would Tony think? Jo?) The curtains separating the room from the balcony were wide open, so sunlight spilled across the hardwood floors and colorful rugs. He could see one end of the futon cushion laying across the balcony floor and Jo’s feet.

When he stepped past the curtains, he paused and just took in the scene. Jo’s still wearing the black boxers and red tee shirt she wore to breakfast, and her hair is draped across the floor. He knows that her hair is long, but he’s never really seen it down before. Her eyes are closed, her breaths are slow and deep, and she looks so at peace. He’s not that surprised that she fell asleep. All of the women looked hungover at breakfast, and they couldn’t even stomach Thor’s pancakes. Jo apologized and said it was the sugary syrup and not Thor’s awesome cooking, and Darcy sniffled as she stared at her plate. 

“Cute when she sleeps, huh?” He didn’t jump; he just turned his head to the side and met Tony’s eyes with his own. The other scientist must have just come from the lab, because he’s covered in grease and his hair is sticking up. 

“Have you told her that?” She’s asleep on her back with her limbs all stretched out, and it looks like she’s smiling a little. 

“A few times. She normally pulls my hair or flicks my ear when I do.” Tony’s smile was gentle, and it’s a look that he wouldn’t have been able to imagine on the man’s face when he first met him. He’s really changed over the past year. 

“What you two have, it’s really special. You’re lucky,” Bruce said quietly. Tony shifted a little and looked down at his feet, and Bruce thought for a second that maybe he’d embarrassed the billionaire. 

“All of us are lucky, in our own ways.” Lucky…that’s a term that Bruce has never applied to himself. “She likes you, you know? She wouldn’t trust you so much if she didn’t.”

“She called Hulk a hero.” It’s one of the few things that’s stuck with him since meeting the bodyguard; she’d looked up at Hulk and called him a hero. No hesitation. 

“And Jo never lies.” Jo stretched and made a quiet rumbling sound before falling still again, and he heard Tony bite back a laugh. “C’mon. Darcy and Natasha fell asleep in the gym instead of working out, so let’s go feed ourselves for a change.”

“Will she be okay?” He’s not sure why he asked it; Jo’s survived a lot more than a night filled with sugar. 

“She’ll be fine. You can come check on her after we eat.” Tony turned on his heel and walked off, and Bruce took a moment to look at Jo one last time. Her face was turned towards the sunlight, and she was smiling a little. Bruce turned and followed after Tony.

**.xXx.**

“Darcy? Are you awake?” She could hear the voice, would probably be able to recognize it if she really tried, but she’s so tired.

“No.” There was a quiet laugh and then something warm brushed across her cheek. Her hair fell off her face so that cool air could touch her skin, and she might have moaned a little. Only a little. It’s just, her hair makes her feel all hot and sweaty, so the cool air felt heavenly. 

“C’mon, Darce, it’s time to rejoin the waking world. I brought you some skittles.” That had her groaning and trying to roll away, but the loud laugh and an arm around her middle stopped her. She finally let her eyes open, and she was a little too stunned to speak for a moment. Clint was smiling down at her, without Jade on his shoulder for once, and his eyes were green and blue today. 

“No more sugar,” she finally whispered. She can feel the heat of his hand on her side, even through her shirt, because he stopped her from rolling away. He can let go now, but she doesn’t really want him to. 

“I was hoping you’d say that, because Thor ate all the skittles.” He shouldn’t smile like that. It makes her brain feel funny. 

“Why are you waking me up?” Normally Thor wakes her up, because he’s awesome like that. Is this punishment for not eating his pancakes this morning? She really tried, but the _syrup_. 

“Because you’ve been asleep in the gym for the past five hours. It’s not good for your back,” Clint said in all seriousness. The gym? Wait, yeah, she remembers coming down with Natasha after breakfast for training. They were both still feeling…hungover is the only word she can think of, so they decided to have a lie-down. 

“Where’s Natasha?” 

“Eating with Thor, which is where I should be, but it seemed cruel to leave you down here.” Clint eased himself up out of his crouch, and he grabbed her hands to pull her up as well. She felt a little lightheaded after standing up, but Clint kept a strong hold on her hands so that she didn’t fall over. 

“It’s lunchtime?” Huh, she’s actually feeling much better. She doesn’t feel all wrung out like she did this morning; she feels like she always does and not like she ate enough sugar last night to put her in a coma. This healing thing rocks!

“Mhmm. Ready to go?” She’s not sure why he asked, because he’s still holding onto one of her hands and pulling her along behind him. 

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” she mumbled and forced her legs to stop feeling like jelly. Clint’s just a guy, right? There’s no reason for her to feel this unsure around him. 

“So, it sounds like you girls had fun last night. Tasha’s being all tight-lipped about what happened though,” Clint said and looked over at her. 

“We did have fun,” was all Darcy said. He huffed but kept smiling, and why is he still holding her hand? They’re in the elevator, so it’s not like she’s going to make a run for it. Then again, she doesn’t really want him to let go. His hands are warm and rough with calluses, and it’s nice to just hold someone’s hand. 

“Thor beat us at skittle poker.” That made her smile, because she’s so proud of the big guy. Most people would feel lost and uncertain in a new world, but not Thor. He embraces the differences and throws himself in headfirst, because that’s just the kind of guy he is. 

“Because he’s awesome like that.” Clint snorted, but she knows that he’s not that upset about losing at skittle poker. Clint’s the one that taught Thor how to play after all. Before she knew it, they were stepping into the kitchen. Jo was half inside of the fridge, but she must have heard them come in. 

“Is it weird that I just want to eat the ham raw? With a little ketchup?” She turned around with a packet of ham and a bottle of ketchup in her hands, and Darcy let go of Clint’s hand. The archer looked over at her and then down, like he didn’t realize they’d been holding hands until she let go. 

“Everything about you is weird, Josie.” She felt fingers tapping against her knuckles and then Clint moved over to where Jo was standing at the counter. He wrinkled his nose as Jo squirted ketchup onto the ham, and he didn’t move away until Jo elbowed him in the stomach. 

“How ya feelin’, kid?” She likes that Tony and Jo call her “kid” now instead of Darce. She gets that they’re not together and that their ages don’t match up to where they could be the parents of a twenty-three year old, but…it makes her feel like she has a family. 

“Like my old self. You?” Jo’s cheeks were puffed out from all the food she had crammed in, and Darcy leaned her elbows against the other side of the bar. 

“Want some pizza, Darcy?” Clint asked as he turned around. She would worry about all of the pizza that she eats, but she works out enough now to counteract any negative effects of her very unhealthy diet. 

“Yes, please.” Jo finally swallowed and then immediately took a long drink of water. 

“I feel much better, because I took an extremely long nap. I’m guessing you did too?” Clint’s hip bumped against her as he settled himself onto a stool, and she smiled in thanks as he slid over a plate of pizza slices. Oh, wait, there’s just one plate. So they’re sharing. 

“Yup, in the gym.” Jo raised a brow at that one but didn’t comment. Darcy’s pretty sure that her fellow mutant has taken naps in weirder places. (Fellow mutant…she’s still getting used to saying that.)

“I was thinking of going out, to the park or something, and reading. I need some fresh air. Wanna come with me?” She doesn’t really go out much, unless Tony has a meeting with someone. They went out yesterday, but they just stayed at the football stadium and rode there in a limo. It’d be nice to walk around and see the city a little. 

“Yeah, I’d like that,” she said and took another big bite. She’s hungrier than she thought. 

“Clinton?” Darcy knew that Clint was glaring before she ever even looked over, because Jo was smiling.

“I’m going to the range. Can’t get rusty,” Clint shrugged. Darcy’s never seen Clint in action, but Jo has told her a few stories. From what she’s heard, Clint is the best marksman in the world. 

“Suit yourself. I’m gonna go get changed and then we can head out, okay?” Darcy nodded since her mouth was full, and she watched as Jo put away her food. It wasn’t until she was walking away that Darcy realized she was going to be alone with Clint, which was both a dream come true and scary as hell. She’s the lovechild of the Tank and Iron Man; she’s not scared of anything. Nope. Not her. 

“You still awake?” Clint was waving his hand in front of her face, and Darcy snapped back into reality. 

“Still here,” she said with a little smile. Clint smiled back, and she felt her stomach flip. Okay, not scared, just…in trouble.

**.xXx.**

Jo yanked her jeans up her legs and pulled on a green tank top, and she wiggled her toes after putting on her old sandals. It’s nice to wear shoes that don’t suffocate her toes. She loves her steel-toes, but she doesn’t wear them for their comfort. She took some time to brush out her hair and put it in a nicely contained ball, and she grabbed her current book. She pressed the elevator button for one floor up instead of going back to the kitchen, because she’s gotta say bye before she goes. It’s the right thing to do.

She stepped into the lab as quietly as possible, but Tony was turned towards the door for once and saw her when she came in. He turned off the torch he was using and pulled his helmet off, and Jo had to resist the urge to laugh. So many people picture Tony as this perfect person who never has a hair out of place, but she regularly gets to see him covered in grease with his hair in complete disarray. He opened his arms for a hug when he saw her, because he knows just how filthy he is, but Jo doesn’t care. She jumped forward and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and this time she did laugh when he yelped a little. 

“Now you’re gonna be all dirty,” Tony said as she pulled away a little. 

“I thought that was how you liked me?” she asked with a little grin. 

“Ooh, someone’s feeling feisty. Nap that good?” She eased herself down so that she was sitting in his lap, because it’s not like she can get any dirtier. 

“It was amazing, but I’m not here to play with you. Me and Darcy are going out, just for a little while.” 

“You’ll be careful?” She loves every side of Tony, because all the different sides make him who he is, but she especially loves his caring side. 

“Of course.” Tony’s lips twisted into a small smile, and she told herself not to touch his hair. It’s caked in grease and washing it tonight is going to be a pain in the ass. She needs to buy him a hairnet or something and then force him to wear it. 

“If anything happens to our little girl—”

“I’d die first,” she said lightly. Despite the easy tone, she means it. It’s a little strange, the love she has for Darcy, because she does think of her as someone that she needs to protect. Not a daughter, like they joke about, but something close. 

“Let’s try to avoid that, hmm?”

“Always. See you when I get back.” She pressed a kiss against his forehead, in one of the few places there wasn’t a streak of grease, and got to her feet. 

“Are you going to say bye to Bruce?” The question isn’t a huge surprise, because Tony takes nearly every opportunity to tease her about her little crush. 

“I am, actually, and I am going to apologize for missing lunch. I’m surprised that you know how to make a sandwich on your own, and oddly proud.”

“I did feed myself before you came along,” he pointed out. She asked JARVIS about lunch as soon as she woke up, and the AI informed her that Tony and Bruce made their own sandwiches. 

“If you say so, boss. Try not to blow up anything while we’re gone,” she said and turned around. 

“I think he likes you too!” She stopped in the doorway but didn’t turn around. She hasn’t thought about the possibility of Bruce liking her too, because it doesn’t really matter. She likes him just because, not for anything in return. In all honesty, she’s not even sure if she can be in a relationship. 

“Maybe,” was all she said before walking out. She rubbed her temples as she walked down the hallway to clear her head, because she doesn’t want her mind to be all cluttered when she walks into Bruce’s lab. His back was to her when she walked in, but she knows that he heard her walk in. His shoulders stiffened for just a moment before relaxing, and he stopped typing for just a second before resuming. She stopped right behind him and placed one hand on his shoulder, and she closed her eyes so that she could focus on her bridge. 

_“Hi.”_

“Hello, Jo.” He turned around as he spoke, and Jo let her hand fall back to her side. She watched as he pushed his glasses up into his unruly hair, and he just blinked up at her. Does she have ketchup on her lips? No, she brushed her teeth. Toothpaste? “You’re getting better at projecting.”

“Still plenty of room for improvement.” 

“You’ll get there.” He’s so nice and supportive, and she really wants to hug him but she’s not sure how he’ll react. 

“That’s one of the reasons I’m here. Do you think we can practice some more tonight? After dinner?” He missed the middle button on his shirt, so she can see a small sliver of skin when he breathes. 

“Of course we can.” How can he be so nice?

“Also, sorry about missing lunch. It won’t happen again, promise,” she said with a smile of her own. 

“It’s okay. You needed the rest, and I do know how to cook.”

“So you made a sandwich?”

“How did you…?”

“JARVIS,” she said and shrugged. Bruce just nodded in acceptance and then looked up at her again. There’s a part of her that just wants to stay here and listen to him talk about his science until all she can hear is him, but she wants to feel the sun on her skin. 

“Are you staying?” She wants to, but why? What’s the point? She’s just now starting to understand who she is, and she can’t dump all of her baggage on someone. Especially not Bruce, who’s relearning himself too. 

“Me and Darcy are going out, just walking around and maybe sitting in a park. See? Book,” she said and waved it. There’s a woman on the front cover in a tight bodice and a shirtless man, because she loves her cheesy romance novels. 

“Have fun and be careful.”

“Will do, Doc. See you at dinner?” 

“I’ll be there.” He smiled at her again, such a small and shy smile, and she forced herself to take a step back. If she keeps looking at him, she’ll stay. Darcy is waiting for her downstairs, so she’d better get to stepping. 

“Bye, Doc.” She heard his quiet goodbye as she finally turned around, and she took a slow breath once the lab door was closed behind her. That was way more difficult than it should’ve been; she has got to get this crush thing under control. Darcy was waiting for her in the kitchen, but Clint was gone. 

“What took you so long? Never mind, you’re covered in grease. Just, tell me you didn’t defile the lab.” Darcy slid off her stool and walked towards her, and Jo huffed out a small laugh. 

“I promise that the lab is still pure.”

“Good. Then let’s get going!” Jo let Darcy pull her out of the house, and she sighed a little as the warm sun hit her. This is what she wanted. This is where she needs to be.

**.xXx.**

“Alright, kid, it’s been an hour and I’m tired of waiting. Spill.” Darcy slowly opened her eyes and looked over at Jo. She’s been sitting propped up against a tree since they reached the park, and Jo immediately laid down and stretched like a cat in the sunlight. She’s pretty sure that Jo hasn’t read a single word of her book; she’s just been laying there and nearly purring.

“Spill what?” The park is full of people; young couples are having picnics, mothers are watching their children, and everything looks so picturesque. 

“Well, either I’ve lost it and started seeing things or you and Clint were totally holding hands earlier.” Darcy felt her face heat up and wiggled a little to get more comfortable. 

“It was an accident.” Jo’s snort was not at all ladylike or appreciated. Darcy crossed her arms and ankles, and Jo rolled over onto her back. She can’t see Jo’s eyes anymore, but that’s probably a good thing. 

“Spilling ketchup on your shirt is an accident. Tripping over the last step is an accident. Holding a cute archer’s hand is not an accident.” Jo is smiling; Darcy can’t see her, but she _knows_.

“Well, it was. He helped me up because I thought it was a good idea to take a nap in the gym, and we just forgot to let go.” Okay, yeah, that sounds weak even to her. She’s still mad at Jo for giggling though. 

“C’mon, you can tell me the truth, kid,” Jo said in a teasing little sing-song voice. This is the woman that Darcy has decided to be her weirdo version of a mother? “And I might not be the closest person to Clint, but I’m in the top five so I can give you lots of advice.”

“Ugh, I never should have told you that I like him,” Darcy groaned and leaned her head back against the tree. 

“What? I thought that was a very nice family moment.” She can feel Jo poking at her feet through her shoes, so she kicked out lightly and pulled her knees to her chest. 

“Was not. You wanna leave daddy-o.” That got her a real laugh out of Jo, and Darcy peeked an eye open for a moment to watch Jo as she laughed. Jo’s laughs are always rough and loud, like she’s not holding herself back. She actually thinks that it’s cute that Jo has a crush on the Doc, but she has no idea where the Doc stands. She’ll have to remember to conspire with Tony later, because if Jo knows that she has a crush then so does Tony. 

“I promise that we both still love you,” Jo said through giggles. 

“Does this mean I—” Her question was cut off by the sound of a deafening boom!, the ground shaking, and a burning hot pulse of air pushing against her. When she finally managed to open her eyes and cough away the pressure sitting against her chest, she’d wished that she’d never opened her eyes at all. 

Jo was standing on her feet, with her silhouette dark against the flames licking towards the sky. People were screaming and running from the destruction, and Darcy struggled to get up onto her knees. Jo’s entire body was tense, but Darcy couldn’t see anything. What happened? Did they get bombed or something? There was too much smoke for her to see anything clearly, and she couldn’t really hear anything over the sounds of panic. No, wait, she was starting to pick up small pieces. 

_“Jerry! Wake up! Jerry!”_

_“No! Not my baby! Someone help us!”_

_“She’s not breathing!”_

“Darcy!” The smoke was being blown away, and she could see again. Bodies were strewn throughout the park; some burnt to nearly nothing and others still slick with blood. “You need to leave! Now!”

“I can’t leave you!” Did someone do this? Are they being attacked?

“Holbrook!” Jo’s body snapped back around, and Darcy watched as a figure dropped from the sky. The ground quaked as he landed, and Jo moved so that her body was blocking the man’s view of Darcy. 

“Henry.” Jo’s voice was soft, so this isn’t the guy that just killed…so many people. 

“Like my present?” The man opened his arms and gestured to the mayhem behind him, and Darcy’s confusion went up another notch. If this guy is the one who just attacked, then what is Jo doing?

“You shouldn’t have done that, Henry. I told you last time, didn’t I? No more chances.” Jo sounds so sad, but why? 

“Darcy! What the hell is going on?!” Tony’s voice in her ear made her jump, and she reached up to touch the little stud in her right ear. 

“A lot of people are hurt. We need help!” 

“We’ll be right there!”

“You’re right, Holbrook. No more chances.” The man raised his hands, and Darcy watched with wide eyes as they started to burn red. She should do something, but what? Why isn’t Jo doing anything?

“You won’t be killing anyone else.” Jo jumped just as the world around them exploded, and Darcy raised her arms to shield herself from the blast. She could feel heat and another ripple of energy, but nothing else. She lowered her arms and cautiously opened her eyes, and she saw Jo standing in front of the guy. 

“Gonna kill me?” the guy asked through blood stained teeth. Jo had a tight grip on his wrists so that his palms were pressed tight against his stomach, but it looks like the blast didn’t hurt the guy at all. Jo must have hit him. 

“I’m going to stop you, Henry. I should’ve done it a long time ago.” The guy started to struggle, and Jo let him go. Darcy nearly called out, because she’s pretty sure that letting him go isn’t a good idea, but Jo was already moving. Her arms and legs were blurs as she fought, and Darcy could smell something burning. The guy’s fists were on fire as he fought back, but it wasn’t slowing Jo down. 

It was over in under two minutes. One moment they were fighting head-to-head with no clear winner, and the next moment Jo had the guy on his knees at her feet. Jo had one arm wrapped around his neck and the other fisted in his hair, and the guy was gripping her forearms. Jo had burns on a large percentage of her body, but she was still standing. The guy was so mad that he was spitting and struggling to get free, but Jo just tightened her hold. 

“He’ll kill you for this!” 

“Close your eyes, Darcy.” Jo’s voice sounds absolutely wrecked, and she’s crying. She’s not sobbing or bawling, but there are a few tears dripping off of her chin into the guy’s hair. “Please. Close your eyes.”

“Let her see who you really are!” If Jo holds onto him much longer, he’ll burn right through her arm. Darcy looked up into Jo’s eyes as the guy kept twisting, and she wanted to close her eyes. She really did, but she couldn’t. Jo’s eyes were so dark that they looked completely black, and her lips were pinched into a thin line. 

“I’m sorry.” Darcy’s not sure if she was talking to her or to the guy, but it doesn’t really matter. As soon as the words left her lips, Jo’s hands moved lightning fast and the guy fell to the ground. Dead. Just like that. Jo snapped his neck, and he’s dead. He killed people though, just now. There are dead kids laying in the park, and there are sirens everywhere but people are still too scared to come inside. 

“Clint. Natasha. You need to set a perimeter. Get everyone out of here. He’s coming, and I don’t have time to run to a safer location. I need help.” Jo stepped around the guy’s body and moved to where Darcy was still kneeling, and Darcy’s eyes were glued to the hand now gripping her bicep and hauling her to her feet. The guy just killed people, so Jo did what she had to. She snapped his neck, because it was the right thing to do. 

“He’s dead.” Darcy looked up at Jo, who’s still holding onto her arm, and Jo’s eyes are still too dark. 

“I promise I will explain everything later, but you need to go. He’s coming.” Jo looked down at the ground, so Darcy looked down at the patch of grass between her feet. It’s still green. The grass is shaking. She thought it was just her shaking, but the whole ground is quaking beneath them. 

“What’s going on?” None of this is making any sense! They were just sitting around and having a great time, and now…now nothing is okay. Jo just killed someone, who just killed a lot of someones, and who is coming?! 

“I said run!” Darcy has never been afraid of Jo. Not after all of the stories and not even after sparring against the other mutant. Never. She’s not scared now either, but…she’s never seen Jo like this. Jo used the hold she had on her to push her as far away as she could, and Darcy nearly tripped over her own feet in her haste to get away. Not completely away. She felt the rough bark of a tree scraping against her palms as she swung around it to hide, and she glanced around the wide trunk to make sure that Jo hadn’t noticed. 

She hadn’t. Jo was standing in the same place but facing the opposite direction, and Darcy watched as she took a few steps forward. The ground was still shaking, harder than ever now, and Darcy could hear a loud roaring getting closer. By the time the roaring was all she could hear, she could see the shape of a giant man barreling towards Jo. His skin was a dark gray and there were giant horns on his head, and he looked bigger than Hulk. All he was wearing were a pair of black pants, so Darcy could see every quivering muscle as he stopped on the other side of the body. He was staring down at the guy, and Jo was standing perfectly still. 

“He always hoped that it would be you.” The guy’s voice was a deep growl that made Darcy’s spine tingle. 

“He couldn’t be saved, Sean, but you can.” Jo sounds almost hopeful, like there isn’t a dead body lying between them. 

“You think I’ll let you live after this? He may have been lost, but he was my _brother_.” The last word was said with a pained sounding growl, and Darcy got it. At least, she got one part of the puzzle. Jo killed the first guy, Henry, even though she knew the brother would come after her. 

“I won’t go down without a fight.” His giant horned head bowed, just for a moment, and Darcy saw Jo brace herself. The guy’s first hit knocked Jo to her knees with a scream that Darcy will never be able to forget, but Jo immediately rolled forward and started fighting back. 

“Darcy! What’s happening in there?!” Clint’s voice rushed through her, and she struggled to swallow down the bile clogging her throat. Jo was fighting, hard, but she’s losing. They’ve barely even started, and she’s losing. 

“Not good! Where is everyone?!” Someone should have been here by now. Where’s Tony? Thor? Hulk? Cap? 

“We’ve got giant fire monsters all over the place! What’s Jo’s status?!” Status? What does that…How is she supposed to answer that?! 

Jo managed to get her body wrapped around the guy’s giant head and tossed him to the ground, but he didn’t stay down for long. A powerful kick sent Jo flying through the air, and Darcy clapped her hands over her mouth to stop from screaming as Jo stopped not too far from the tree she was hiding behind. Jo’s covered in blood and parts of her don’t look right, like her body is broken. The guy stomped forwards and knelt next to Jo’s body, and she could hear Jo laughing. 

“Killing me won’t bring him back. Won’t bring any of them back.” There was a rumbling sound from his chest and then he brought a giant fist down. The ground around Jo cracked and broke apart, and the next hit made the hole a little deeper. Again and again, deeper and deeper. 

“Darcy!”

“He’s going to kill her,” she whispered. No one can survive that, not even Jo. Darcy didn’t realize she was kneeling until she felt her fingers curling around the grass, and she can’t even see Jo’s body now. 

The giant guy suddenly went rolling across the ground, and Darcy saw a blur of blonde and red. That has to be Thor, right? Lightning streaked across the sky as the ground began to shake again, and something huge and green ran right past her. Thor and Hulk completely blocked her view of the man they were fighting, but she doesn’t care. She scrambled forwards on her hands and knees until she reached the crater in the ground, and she nearly fell into the hole with Jo. Is she breathing? She has to still be alive. Jo can’t die; she’s a tank. 

“Shh, kid, ‘m okay.” Jo’s face looks too flat in some places and too swollen in others, and Darcy could barely understand her through all the blood spilling from between her lips. “Sean?”

Darcy looked up to the fight, but she can’t really see anything. There’s a lot of angry growling going on, and she can only see glimpses of what’s happening. The silver flash of Thor’s hammer, a rippling green muscle, a horn flying through the air…A few heartbeats later, everything stopped. Thor and Hulk took shuddering steps backwards and parted, and she could see the other guy laying on the ground. He’s not moving and it looks like…Darcy only saw parts of his insides before she was emptying her stomach next to the hole that Jo’s still in. 

“He’s dead,” she heard herself say. She felt a hand squeezing her shoulder, and she looked up at Thor. He’s covered in blood and ashes, and Hulk’s looking about the same. 

“Can you carry Jo home?” Thor asked. Hulk just nodded and bent down, and Jo cried out as he gently picked her up. Darcy tried not to watch the way that her broken bones shifted under her bruised skin, but she couldn’t look away. She felt Thor lifting her up, but she’s starting to feel numb all over. Jo’s not moving anymore, but she couldn’t tell if she was breathing or not because Hulk was suddenly running. 

“Why isn’t Jo responding?!” Tony’s voice echoed inside her skull, but Darcy couldn’t think of a reply. Was Jo unconscious? Or is she…?

“Jo is with Hulk, and she is fine. If the fire monsters have been defeated, I would like to take Darcy home.” Thor’s voice is always deep, but now it’s quiet instead of loud. There’s no smile on his lips, and his eyes are dark. It’s a side of Thor that she’s never seen up close, and she reached up to wipe away some ash clinging to his chin. All it did was smudge against his skin and made her thumb black. 

“They’re gone. We’ll meet you there.” Thor tightened his arms around her, and it probably would have hurt if she could feel anything. Her fingers slipped against his armor as she tried to hold on, and it sounded like water was rushing through her ears. 

“Thor?”

“Fear not, Darcy. All is well.” He smiled down at her, to reassure her, but his eyes are still dark. She repeated Thor’s words as they rushed home and thought about the sound of Jo’s laughter; _all is well_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I apologize for the confusion and cliffhanger? I feel like I should. Don't worry though, everything will be explained in the next chapter. The confusion is intentional too; now we all know how Darcy feels. Thank you for reading and I'll make it all better in the next chapter!


	17. That's Her Specialty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _but i'm only human_   
>  _and i bleed when i fall down_   
>  _i'm only human_   
>  _and i crash and i break down_   
>  **Human by Christina Perri**   
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a small warning for some graphic healing

Hulk slowly retreated until Bruce was left standing in the foyer with an unconscious Jo in his arms, and Bruce ran for the elevator. Jo might be a mutant with regenerative powers, but she needs to be fully examined. He watched through Hulk’s eyes as the burns covering her body scabbed and healed, but she’s still a long way from a full recovery. Bruce can feel the way her bones are shifting under her skin, and the way she’s struggling to breathe tells him that she’s got a punctured lung. There was a shift around her sternum, a quiet crunching sound, and Jo screamed as the bones fused back together. Hazy green eyes blinked open as he stepped out onto the medical floor, and he went to the first room on the right. 

“Doc?” The single word sounded slurred and pained, and Bruce laid her down as gently as he possibly could. He found a pair of surgical scissors and cut away her shirt and jeans. He pulled away the rough fabric, winced at the bent state of Jo’s legs, and noticed that she didn’t move at all as he pulled the material away. 

“Jo?” 

“Spine…still…broke.” Each word had several harsh breaths between them, and Bruce took a slow breath of his own. Her spine is broken. 

“What can I do?” If it was anyone else, he’d notify all loved ones and tell them that all he could was keep them comfortable. No one should be able to live through this. 

“Tony…can’t see…me. Not…like this. Please.” Bruce watched the way her nose and cheeks shifted as the bones in her face began to heal, and thick tears were spilling into the closing cuts. 

“JARVIS?”

“I’ll do my best, sir.” Jo’s eyes closed at that and she seemed to relax a fraction, but she immediately tensed up again as her arms started healing. 

“Should you be healing so slow?” He thought Jo’s healing was much faster than this. She’s normally laughing only minutes after getting shot in the head. 

“Too much…one time. Fatal first…others later.” So her healing knows which injuries are more fatal, so why the broken bones now?

“Internal damage?”

“Healed.” She didn’t move at all as the bones in her legs snapped back into place, so that was one small mercy she got today. “Doc?”

“What do you need?” His hands were hovering over her bloodied skin, but he was too scared to touch her. He doesn’t want to hurt her even worse. 

“The blood…is itchy.” He moved over to the counter and found a packet of wet wipes, and Jo was watching him when he turned around. He moved across her skin as gently as he could, watched as dark bruises were revealed as he wiped the blood away, and listened to Jo’s pained sobs as her body fought to heal. When he was done, he threw away the small mountain of bloodied wipes and then looked back at Jo. Without a task, he was lost. Jo’s fingers twitched as she held out her hand, and he was gentle as he took her crooked fingers in his own. 

[i]“Stay with me. You won’t hurt me.”[/i] Her thoughts were shaky, but the message got through. After a little more coaxing from Jo, he moved up onto the hospital bed and helped Jo settle against him. He would have kept protesting, but he didn’t want to strain her even more by refusing. Apparently, Jo is stubborn when she’s near death. 

“I’ve got you,” he whispered once she fell still against him. Crooked fingers twitched against his arms, which were wrapped completely around her middle, and he took a moment to wish that he had a shirt. He had shorts on, Jo was still wearing a bra and panties, and he could feel the way the bones under her skin shifted as she healed and shook against him. 

Her spine was the last to heal. Her legs kicked out against his, and he had to trap her legs between his to help with the spasms. Once her body was whole again, except for a smattering of bruises, she turned her face into his chest and cried. She didn’t sob or cry out; she just silently cried and held onto him a little tighter. After a few moments, he felt her body relax completely against him and felt slow breaths puff out against his collarbone. She was asleep.

**.xXx.**

“Jo?! Bruce?!” Parts of his suit were still a little warm to the touch, but he felt like it was safe to take off now. If it’s not, he’ll build another one. He was still in the foyer, stepping out of the suit, when the others arrived. Clint and Natasha were leaning against each other, Steve was covered in ash, and Thor was carrying Darcy. The kid didn’t look hurt, just a little freaked out.

“Jo and Hulk?” Steve asked. 

“Dr. Banner has taken Miss Jo down to the med facilities.” Tony started for the elevator immediately. “Perhaps, sir, you should take a moment to return the suit and shower. Miss Jo is perfectly fine and is currently resting.”

“You lyin’ to me, JARVIS?” Without any more prompting, a video feed popped up behind his eyes. Jo and Bruce were both laying down on one of the hospital beds, and he can’t see any blood or bones. Huh.

“Is she okay?” Darcy was still in Thor’s arms, and it doesn’t look like the god is going to put her down anytime soon. Tony gestured for all of them to follow him while mentally telling JARVIS to inform Maria of their return. Once they were moving, Tony looked over at Darcy and tried to smile. Those big blue eyes shouldn’t look so sad. 

“Jo’s gonna be fine, kid. Just rest up.” Thor carried Darcy off the elevator, Steve got off on the next floor, then Clint and Natasha, and Tony skipped his floor to go straight to the lab. 

He took care of his suit first. The small compact box was placed into its case, where it expanded back into its usual form. He’ll need to clean it and make a few repairs, but it held up just fine. Looks like he doesn’t need a bodyguard anymore. [i](I’m not a bodyguard for Iron Man, sir. I’m a bodyguard for Tony Stark.)[/i] Nah, he can’t fire Jo. She’ll run away to Amsterdam and spend all of his money on cheap fun. He can’t have that. He’ll have to keep her around for a little longer, get her more cultured before setting her free. He chuckled under his breath, just a little, as he took the elevator down to the basement. 

The first door on the right opened automatically when he walked into the med facilities, and he paused in the doorway to assess the scene. Jo was stripped down to just her undergarments, a bra and panty set in a blaring orange color, and he could only see a few bruises peppered across her skin. Her hair was free and matted with blood, but her body was clean. Bruce was just wearing his Hulk shorts, the only pair he had right now that could expand with Hulk and then shrink back down with Bruce. Jo was mostly laying on her back and Bruce was on his side, but Jo’s upper body was turned so that she could hold onto him. It was…kinda cute, in a macabre sort of way. He was going to turn around and go back upstairs, but Bruce’s eyes met his. 

“She’s mostly all healed now. All of the internal damage and broken bones have been taken care of.” 

“JARVIS said she was okay, but I just wanted to check with my own eyes.” He gave a little shrug at the end, because there’s no use in pretending that Jo doesn’t mean a lot to him. 

“Tony?” He could barely hear her because her face was pressed against Bruce’s chest, and Tony did his best not to make a remark about Bruce’s pink cheeks. Later. He’ll save it for later. 

“Go back to sleep, Jo. We’ll talk later.” He heard a quiet groaning sound, and he watched the way that Jo’s fingers spread out across Bruce’s biceps while the man’s eyes closed. 

“She said something about needing her cuddle buddy to sleep?” Bruce looked confused, and this time Tony got to ignore his own overly warm face. 

“Evil woman,” Tony hissed as he moved over to the bed. The hospital beds were huge, because some of the guys staying in the mansion are overly large, so there was still plenty of room left. He eased down next to Jo, who lightly patted her stomach without removing her face from the center of Bruce’s chest. He couldn’t see any bruises on that side of her stomach, so he slowly eased himself down. Once he was completely horizontal and using Jo’s stomach for a pillow, one of Jo’s hands moved down to card through his grease-caked hair. 

“Tony?” That was Bruce, who sounded a mixture of confused and comatose. It makes sense to Tony. 

“What?”

“You’re, uh, kind of growling?” He felt Jo’s huff of a laugh, and he’s guessing that Bruce felt it too. 

“Bruce?”

“Yeah?”

“We will never speak of this.” It was quiet for the next seventy-eight seconds, until Jo hummed quietly and seemed to drift off again, so he’s going to assume that everyone is agreed.

**August 21, 2014**

Jo woke up in half of her usual sleeping position. She could feel Tony’s stubbly cheek on her stomach and her fingers were tangled in his greasy hair, yuck. She was also twisted away from Tony, gripping a strong bicep, and using a very warm chest for a pillow. Right. There was the super painful healing because she sustained way too damage at one time, and Bruce stayed with her. Then Tony showed up, and she knew he was worried because she could _feel_ it, and the three of them wound up in a cuddle pile. Her life is so weird. And she has some explaining to do.

“Miss Jo?” She tilted her head back and looked up into brown eyes. How long has Bruce been awake?

“Yeah, JARVIS?” Her voice sounds wrecked, but it’s no worse than usual. 

“Miss Natasha would like permission to explain the situation to Miss Darcy and the others.” Natasha wants to tell everyone? Letting someone else tell her story feels wrong, maybe cowardly, but…she’s not sure she can look Darcy in the eye and tell the story without breaking down. Telling Tony, and Bruce, is going to be hard enough. 

“Tell her to go ahead.” 

“And you’ll tell us?” Tony had his chin propped on her hip, and she still has her hand tangled in his hair. She’s still holding onto Bruce too, like he’ll disappear if her grip loosens. She looked away from Tony to Bruce, who slowly nodded at her. Yeah, she can tell them. 

“I’ve told you both that I’m not proud of some of the things I’ve done. I did a lot of bad shit when I worked for SHIELD, but I’m not blaming them. SHIELD didn’t train me or force me to do anything. I gained my reputation all on my own, so there’s no one to blame but me.”

“What happened, Jo?” It was Tony that asked, but she could feel Bruce looking at her too. 

“It was a simple job. My usual kind of job, because I was already in my groove by then. Already had a solid reputation and specialization. It should’ve been quick and clean, but I…”

**.xXx.**

“You have Miss Jo’s permission.” Natasha nodded once at the words and met Clint’s eyes. He knows the story as well as she does, but he’s always cared for Jo. Maybe not immediately, but still close to the beginning. This story hurts him in ways that don’t phase her, so she’ll be the one to tell it. They’re sitting in the common room of the third floor, where Darcy and Maria’s rooms are, and only three of the house members are missing. Tony and Bruce are probably with Jo. Darcy is sitting on a couch, between Thor and Clint. The god has barely left the girl’s side all night, and the sun rose just minutes ago. Steve and Maria are sitting on the loveseat, and Natasha is sitting in the only chair. (Jade is sitting on the back of the chair.)

“Once you reach a certain level within SHIELD, you become a specialist. I am a spy. Clint is an archer. Those are our specialties. It’s what we’re best at.”

“What’s Jo’s specialty?” Darcy looks so strong and determined, but Natasha saw the look in the girl’s eyes yesterday. Whatever she saw when she was with Jo, it’s going to stick with her. 

“Jo is a killer. That’s her specialty. Sometimes, despite that, we slip up.” She resolutely didn’t look at Clint as she spoke, but she could feel his eyes on her. Could feel Maria’s too, because the agent knows exactly what she’s talking about. Clint’s different call and Jo’s.

**.xXx.**

“The parents weren’t mutants, as far as we could tell. Maybe a little stronger than average, but human. The kids both had mutant genes. The oldest, Sean, was what we call a Gamma level mutant. His appearance, big with gray skin and horns, made it impossible for him to pass as a human in society but he still had above average abilities. His younger brother, Henry, was an Alpha level mutant. Completely normal appearance and a mutant ability that he could easily control—the ability to create and control fire. Their parents were bad people. They worked for the highest bidders as thieves. I was sent after them when they set their sights on something big and nuclear.”

**.xXx.**

_“The mission was simple. Wait for the youngest boy, Henry, to leave the house. He was fourteen and scheduled to be out with friends all night. The oldest was eighteen and lived elsewhere. The parents were supposed to be alone, and Jo’s orders were simple. Kill everyone in the house. The boy forgot his wallet.”_

**.xXx.**

“Henry wasn’t supposed to be there. I killed the woman first, then the man. Just a few flicks of my wrists, and they were gone. When I looked up, he was just staring at me. Both of his parents were laying at my feet, necks snapped, and he wouldn’t stop staring. He wasn’t supposed to be there. My orders were clear, but I…He was just fourteen.”

**.xXx.**

_“She left the boy alive. When another agent was sent after him, the boy burned him alive. We didn’t find him for another two years, in a village in China. He’d set most of the village on fire using his new creations. Beings made out of fire that he could control. It weakened him, but he could kill faster. Jo subdued him, but she still couldn’t kill him. He was arrested, along with his brother. They’ve been locked up ever since, until the breakouts.”_

**.xXx.**

“I should have put an end to it in China, but he was still just a kid. A kid that watched me kill his parents, so I knew why he was angry. It seemed wrong to kill him; he was just lashing out, and how was that any better than what I did? I know he killed innocent people, but I just, I couldn’t do it. I looked at what he created, at all that potential, and felt like snapping my own neck. He could have been amazing.”

**.xXx.**

_“Henry sent out his fire creations to keep us busy while he dealt with Jo. He had to know that she would overpower him, knew that what he was doing would keep him weak, but I think he believed that his brother would finish her off. As far as we can tell, Sean never harmed a civilian. He just refused to leave his brother’s side.”_

**.xXx.**

“I don’t blame Sean for coming after me. I can’t imagine what it’s like for the Gamma mutants. They have to hide from the world or they’re called monsters, and I took away the three people that loved and accepted him unconditionally. Maybe their parents didn’t deserve to die; maybe they just needed to be put away somewhere. All I know is that I made a different call, and there’s a village that’s been wiped off the map and a park full of dead people because of it.”

“You know that what Henry did isn’t your fault,” Tony said quietly. 

“You did what you thought was right,” Bruce added just as softly. Great, they’re coddling her. 

“I don’t blame myself, but that doesn’t mean that some of the fault isn’t mine.”

**.xXx.**

_“Jo made the call not to kill a fourteen year old boy. Her specialty is killing, but only when she thinks there is no other option.”_

**.xXx.**

“No one’s perfect, sweetheart,” Tony said. His cheek is resting against her stomach now, and her cheek is pressed against Bruce’s chest. She only cried a little, but Bruce still hasn’t complained a bit.

“Yeah, I know, boss. You two are pretty close though.” They both made startled sounds, and she held onto both of them a little tighter. “I mean it, you two are the best. You’ve listened to me cry about my horrible decisions and held me through the night. JARVIS, we need to work on designing an award for these two.”

“What should the award say, miss?”

“Number One Cuddle Buddy?”

“For both of them, miss?” Damn, JARVIS is too smart for her own good. 

“Thing One and Thing Two?” At that Tony started laughing, a full belly laugh that shook the bed, and she could feel Bruce laughing into her hair. Crisis averted. Looks like she won’t be having a mental breakdown today. “C’mon, guys. I’m in serious need of a shower, and so are you two.”

“We are not showering together!” Tony yelled as he rolled off the bed.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Bruce groaned as he rolled off the other side. 

“I would.” At their shocked stares and wide eyes, Jo just shrugged. “What? Two hot scientists in a shower? What woman wouldn’t dream of that?”

“Well, uh, I don’t…”

“It’s…we’re…you…”

“Don’t strain yourselves, boys. See you at breakfast!”

**.xXx.**

“I’ll be right back,” Darcy said slowly. Thor was standing in front of the giant stove and holding a spatula in one hand, and his big blue eyes kept flicking between the partially cooked pancakes and Darcy’s face. She could tell that he wanted to come stand beside her, probably even escort her onto and off of the elevator, but the pancakes aren’t finished. This is her chance. Not that she would ever want to escape from Thor or anything. She just needs to do this by herself.

“Lady Jo carries a warrior’s burden, and she has my respect.” She hasn’t heard Thor call Jo “Lady” since he first came to the mansion, and his eyes are looking very serious. They haven’t really talked about what happened yesterday. Thor has told her some Asgard stories, and she’s told him a few of her own stories from over the years. (All of the stories have no mention of Jane, because neither one of them needs to go through that right now.)

Since she couldn’t think of how to respond to that, she just nodded to let him know that she understood and quickly turned around. Everything was quiet as she walked to the elevator, and she stopped inside of it and looked up at the ceiling. JARVIS told her that Jo was in her room, alone, so that’s where she went. She could hear banging coming from the inside of Tony’s room, it sounded like a shoe hitting the wall, but the rest of the floor was silent. Jo called out for her to come in after a quick knock on the door, and Darcy leaned back against the door once it was closed again. 

“I told you I’m—Darcy!” Big dark green eyes met hers before quickly looking down. Jo’s just wearing a bra and a pair of purple leggings, and Darcy ran her eyes over Jo’s bared torso. There’s not a single mark on her. It’s like yesterday never even happened. “Please, don’t cry. I’m okay, kid. See? I’m perfectly okay.”

“You told me not to watch. You told me to run.” Yeah, she’s crying just a little. She watched Jo get beat into a crater, and she saw the woman snap a guy’s neck like it was nothing. She knows the story behind everything now and can understand what happened, but that doesn’t mean she can just make the images go away. 

“I didn’t want you to see me…like _that_.” Jo has her arms crossed, but not in a defensive way. Darcy took Psych 101, okay? Jo’s trying to hold herself together. 

“Didn’t want me to see who you are?” The question made Jo flinch, but that’s not what Darcy means. “I don’t care about what you’ve done or what you might do in the future. I live with assassins, and the god of thunder, and the Hulk, and they call you the Tank. I know that bad things are going to happen, but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to hate you or whatever. You beat a dude into a bloody pulp just for mugging me, so I’ve always know that you’re capable of violence, but that’s not all you are. You’ve been teaching me how to dance because no one else ever took the time, and I still love you, you know?”

Jo’s mouth opened and closed a few times, and Darcy watched as she took a deep breath and then jumped forward. Arms locked around her without holding on too tight, and Darcy reached up to lightly pat at Jo’s shoulder blades before completely giving in and just wrapping her arms around Jo’s waist. Jo’s warm and soft, but Darcy knows how deceiving that view is. She’s strong and deadly, but she’s still Jo. She’s still the woman who beat up Darcy’s mugger, bought her some bruise cream, and is always there when Darcy needs her. 

“I love you too, kid,” Jo whispered in her hoarse voice. Clint did that to her voice; Thor wanted to wipe out an entire race; Hulk literally tore apart Harlem; Steve was a soldier in World War II; Tony used to be called the Merchant of Death; Natasha…she’s sure that Natasha has done plenty of stuff that she doesn’t know the specifics of. Point? Everyone in this house has done some pretty awful stuff, but that doesn’t mean they’re all bad people. 

“Okay. Glad we got this all hugged out. Can we go back to normal now? I’ll make fun of you and Tony, you can tease me about the archer, and we’ll eat Thor’s fucktastic pancakes.” Jo’s standing in front of her now, but they’re still holding hands. Is this what it’s like for Jo and Tony? And some of the others? After all the bad shit, do they just want some kind of contact? To stay anchored to something?

“Anchor? Close enough. Fucktastic pancakes? Yes, please. And on the way down, you can tell me all about your encounters with our resident archer.” Jo tugged her towards the door, and Darcy was feeling a little bit of situational whiplash. They can really go back to normal that fast? 

“You might want to put a shirt on first,” was the first thing to come out of Darcy’s mouth. Unfortunately, they were already out the door and standing in the living room. Where Tony and Bruce were talking quietly. 

“We’ve talked about this, sweetheart. You have to wear clothes now. We’re not living alone anymore,” Tony said gently. His eyes were shining with pure malicious amusement, and it looked like Bruce’s cheeks were turning a little pink. It was hard to tell since he kept glancing up and then turning his whole head away. 

“You told me I had to wear clothes even when we did live alone,” Jo replied. 

“You two are so married, it’s eerie. I mean that. Go get dressed, mum,” Darcy said and gave her a push. Jo wagged a finger at her before sauntering off, and Darcy stuck her tongue out once Jo’s back was turned. 

“I saw that, young lady!” 

“Ooh, busted!”

“Shut it, daddy-o, or I’ll make sure you wind up in the doghouse.” She was smiling when she turned around, and Tony was grinning at her like…well, she’s sure that’s how a normal person would smile if they won lottery and were told no taxes would have to come out. 

“You’re on my side, right, Bruce?” Tony looked over at his fellow scientist, and Bruce scrubbed a hand through his hair without meeting Tony’s eyes. 

“Ha! I’m the favorite!” Darcy cheered just as Jo came back. She was wearing a baggy red ACDC shirt, which had to be Tony’s, and she’s still wearing those purple leggings. 

“I was promised pancakes.” Jo propped her hands on her hips and cocked a brow, and the two scientists looked at each other before shrugging and offering their arms. Jo lightly bumped against her as they each took an arm, and Darcy took a moment to smile up at Tony. Of course Jo would take Bruce’s arm; Darcy’s got to remember to conspire with Tony later.

**.xXx.**

“How are you still eating?” Jo paused with the fork still in her mouth and looked over at Darcy. She could see Clint and Natasha out of the corner of her eye, and the two assassins were just looking on with small smiles on their faces. A little further down, Maria was looking at Steve with the same awed face as Darcy.

“What do you mean?” Jo mumbled around her food. 

“I think she’s referring to the twenty pancakes you’ve consumed in under ten minutes. Thor’s up to thirty, but Bruce has everyone beat at thirty-four. Unless, Steve?” Tony called down the table.

“He’s at twenty-seven,” Maria answered. Steve smiled appreciatively at her, since his cheeks were stuffed full. 

“They had a big fight yesterday and had to heal, which means they need to refuel. I wish I could eat that much,” Clint said and mournfully rubbed his stomach. 

“You’d puke and pass out,” Natasha reminded him. 

“No one should be able to eat that much. Does your stomach hurt? Or your jaw? You’ve used an entire bottle of syrup,” Darcy said and waved the bottle. There was still some left at the bottom, so it wasn’t the _whole_ bottle. 

“I feel fine. A little thirsty.” A bottle of water appeared in front of her face, and she took a second to smile at Tony before downing half the bottle. Much better. She’s actually starting to feel a little more normal. 

“Fascinating,” Darcy whispered. 

“Do we have any plans for today? I have lab stuff I need to do.” At that, Jo and Darcy both turned to look at Tony. Lab stuff? Sounds kinda scary. 

“No _p_ e,” Clint said, popping the _p_. 

“Business as usual,” Natasha added. Just like that, everything is back to normal. Jo’s not really sure what that says about all of them. Are they all in denial about their big fights or have they just gotten used to it?

“Guess that means you’re back to training,” Jo said with a small smile. Darcy smiled back, and the younger woman’s eyes were completely clear. Good. Jo was worried for a moment that maybe Darcy would feel uncomfortable training after seeing Jo in real action, but she should be used to Darcy surprising her. 

“You’re not gonna get hungry halfway through and go all Hannibal Lecter on me, are you?”

“Who?”

“I don’t understand.” The table, minus two, erupted into laughter. Even Bruce and Natasha were chuckling a little, and Maria was trying to explain to Steve through her giggles. 

“I’ll tell you later, okay, big guy?” Darcy asked. Thor grinned, big and wide, and stuffed half of a pancake into his mouth. 

Just like that, everything was okay again.

**.xXx.**

“I’m really okay. You don’t have to take it easy on me.” Bruce looked up at the sound of her rough voice, and dark green eyes met his from across the room. Jo’s still laying on his couch, which is more like his bed at this point, with her book open on her stomach.

“I’m not taking it easy on you,” he said and turned back to his microscope. Sometimes he can’t focus when she’s looking at him. 

“We’re taking the day off, and I know it’s because of what happened yesterday. I’m fine, really. Teensy bit sore but completely healed.”

“It’s not because of what happened yesterday.” He knows that Jo can read his thoughts, and he also knows that she hasn’t come anywhere near his mind today. Maybe the others can’t tell when Jo catches their thoughts, but he can. He spent years controlling every aspect of himself, and he can tell when there’s someone else in his mind. 

“If we take a day off every time there’s a big fight, we’ll never make any progress.” Jo has a point, and Bruce quickly glanced over at her. She’s still lying down. 

“Hulk only has one pair of shorts, and I think he needs variety. We can work in here today, if you want,” he added quickly. He really does think that she needs to take a day off, because yesterday was more than just a big fight. It was more than physical. 

“But you’re all the way over there.” He could hear the pout in her voice, and he had to force himself not to look up and see if her lips were pouting too. 

“You need to learn to project your thoughts without touch.” 

“Well, that takes all the fun out of it,” she drawled. He didn’t mean to look up and catch her eyes, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself either. Jo’s smile was slow and crooked when she noticed him, a real smile, and Bruce looked away before he could embarrass himself. There’s something about the mutant that makes him lose a little bit of his control. “Alright, Doc, we’ll do things your way. You just sit there and look pretty while I do all the work.”

“I’m working,” he mumbled, mostly to himself. Jo’s eyes were already closed, and it looked like she was trying to regulate her breathing. 

The lab was quiet as Jo concentrated and Bruce worked, and he liked the quiet. It made it easier to work, but he could still feel Jo’s presence. She made the room feel a little warmer, which doesn’t make any logical sense, but it’s no less true. Even now, he still doesn’t know what to make of her. He knows what she’s done and what she’s capable of, but she’s still one of the kindest people he’s ever met. _(“My hero!” Jo yelled before jumping onto the Hulk.)_ She makes him feel like he’s just another man, when they both know he’s not. He shouldn’t be surprised by that. Her closest friend is Tony Stark, who is the first person to ever look him in the eye and praise Hulk instead of fearing him. 

_“He was…”_ The thought was light and whispered, and he looked across the lab to the couch. Jo was breathing slow and deep, and she was smiling just a little. 

_“He was…her air. And. She was…his sun.”_

“More Harlequin?” he asked. Jo jumped into a sitting position and beamed a smile at him, and it made something in his stomach feel warm. 

“They might be ridiculous, but everyone needs a guilty pleasure.” Her eyes were shining and her cheeks were flushed, and Bruce smiled. Just a little. He likes seeing her happy. It’s so much better than seeing her covered in blood or crying. 

“Keep practicing. The thoughts were very quiet. You need to make them stronger.”

“Aye, aye, Doc!” She snapped off a salute and laid back down, and Bruce ran his hand through his hair. If he pulled on a few curls, Jo’s eyes were closed so no one would know anyway.

**.xXx.**

“You don’t have to do this.”

“Yes, I do. Your hair is absolutely filthy,” was her counter. She heard Tony huff but he didn’t argue anymore, so she took that as a win. Tony actually slumped back against her and propped his arms on her thighs, and Jo continued to scrub her fingers through his disgusting hair. How did he take care of himself before she came along? (They both know the answer to that, but neither one of them is going to say her name out loud.)

“It’s not that bad,” he said once the shampoo was out. 

“Your hair was so greasy that it was turning into a helmet. How are you a fashion icon again?” She’s working the conditioner into his hair now, so that it’ll feel all silky smooth when it dries. 

“It’s ‘cause I’m hot,” he drawled. 

“Uhuh. Keep telling yourself that, boss,” she said and picked up her cup. Tony held still as she rinsed his hair, and he didn’t say anything as she started washing his back. She could feel the soft whirl of his thoughts, but she didn’t focus on them. He’ll talk when he’s ready. 

“I should be doing this for you,” he said when she started ringing the sponge out. He’s all squeaky clean now and turned around so that he can look up at her, and she moved a stray piece of wet hair off his forehead. 

“I like doing this for you. It makes me feel better,” she shrugged. She likes knowing that she can help someone like this, especially someone who deserves a little loving care. 

“But you deserve it too.” Is Tony the mind reader now? Sweet Thor, that is one scary thought. 

“Maybe. Stop thinking so hard, Tony. You don’t have to do anything to make me feel better. I feel better just by being around you,” she said with a big ol’ smile. Tony’s eyes narrowed as he looked up at her, but it didn’t change her expression in the slightest. 

“You are so corny. Why are we friends?”

“Because I give you sponge baths. Duh.” She ruffled his hair before standing up, and she quickly toweled off her legs before looking at him again. He’s still just sitting in the water, looking at her. “Come on and get out, before you get all pruney.”

“I don’t think that’s a word.” He stood up anyway, and Jo passed the towel over. While he was drying his body, she scrubbed a towel over his head. 

“It’s a word now, and we need to avoid it at all costs. There, all dry.” His hair was sticking up all over the place, so it was a little hard for her to take his glare seriously. 

“Is there anything I can do?” Jo tossed the towel to the side and looked down at her feet. She’s just wearing a tee shirt and a pair of boxer panties, but this is her usual nighttime attire. Tony’s still naked, so it’s not like either of them is all that modest. 

“You can…cuddle me all night long,” she finally said. Tony rolled his eyes and walked out of the room to find his own pajamas, and Jo made her way over to his bed. She really loves his silky sheets. They’re so…silky. Tony joined her a few moments later, and they moved into their go-to sleeping position. 

“I really love you. You know that, right?” She twirled a lock around her finger and hummed in the back of her throat. Yeah, she knows that Tony loves her. Just like he knows she loves him. Why else would she wash his gross hair and scrub his back?

“Love you too, Tony. Now quit worrying about me and get some sleep. Everything is okay. I’m not going anywhere.” She must have said the magic words, because Tony completely relaxed against her and nuzzled against her stomach. 

Everything is back to normal, so why does she feel like the worst is yet to come?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that the explanation made sense, because I don't want people to forget that sweet and cuddly Jo is the _Tank_. There's a reason that she has that name. I also missed having fluff, so there's some of that in this chapter too. If there's any questions, I'd be happy to answer them!


	18. Secrets To Keep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _just a little change_   
>  _small, to say the least_   
>  _both a little scared_   
>  _neither one prepared_   
>  **Tale As Old As Time from Beauty and the Beast**   
> 

**August 22, 2014**

The sun was streaking into the room when Jo opened her eyes, and she absently patted her stomach. Looks like Tony started the day without her. She listened to her bones pop as she stood up and stretched, and she shook her hair out as she shuffled out of Tony’s room. The shampoo she has stashed in Tony’s room is running low, so she’s taking a shower in her own bathroom today. Nothing loosens her up after a big fight like a hot shower, and she spent several minutes just standing under the spray. Once she was squeaky clean, she stepped out into the misty bathroom and started the herculean task of drying her hair.

Her feet drug as she moved over into her closet, and she was fighting just to keep her eyes open. Huh, maybe she’s not as healed as she thought. Her tired muscles are begging for some rest, and she’s swaying sleepily in her closet so getting some more sleep doesn’t sound like a bad idea. She found a matching set of pale pink panties and a sports bra, and one of Tony’s tank tops was hanging out of a drawer. It was a little loose in some places and tight in others, but it was comfortable and that’s all that matters. Her dark green blanket was pulled back on the bed so that she could see the purple pillows and light blue sheets, and she smiled as she collapsed onto the fluffy mattress. 

“Tony okay, JARVIS?” she muffled out. She’s lying face down on a pillow, but the AI still heard her. JARVIS is awesome like that. 

“Master Stark is completely okay, Miss Jo.” She hummed a quiet acknowledgement and burrowed down into the mattress a little more. Just a few hours and then she’ll go find Tony. Yeah, just a few more hours of sleep.

**.xXx.**

Darcy groaned as she clawed her way out of her sheets, and she had to rub her eyes so that she could focus on the clock. _Ten thirty-four_. It took a moment for the time to register, and she scrambled to get out of bed once she realized how late it was. For some reason, everyone in this house is an early riser. Breakfast is normally somewhere between seven and eight, and why didn’t anyone wake her up? Thor normally wakes her up so that they can cook breakfast together. (Well, Thor cooks and she supervises.) She even missed training!

Her shirt blocked her sight as she stumbled out of her room, and she managed to pull the material straight before stepping into the elevator. She glanced down as she moved upwards, and she let her head fall back against the elevator wall. She forgot to put on shoes. Yeah, she’s just gonna be inside all day, but she prefers wearing shoes in the lab. She can heal pretty fast and everything now, but Tony’s lab is still a dangerous place to be sometimes. The elevator doors finally opened, and she slid into Tony’s lab with apologies falling from her lips.

“—never happen again and…Tony? Jo?” The lab is way too quiet. There’s no blaring music, or cussing genius, or laughing mutant. “JARVIS?”

“Master Stark is running an errand.” Oh, so that explains where they are. Must not be business related, or they would’ve pulled her along. Being Tony’s assistant is mostly awesome, but she hates the business meetings. They’re so boring. Well, it looks like she’s got some free time on her hands. Maybe Thor needs some company.

**.xXx.**

Bruce pulled away from his microscope and pushed his glasses up, and his eyes fell on his watch. It’s already past one, so he’s been working longer than he thought. Jo should have been here by now. They talked it over last night before she left; they’d have lunch in the lab and then Jo would work on her telepathy training. She needs to improve projecting her thoughts over a distance, and he can continue to work while she trains. She said she’d be up at twelve, and Jo is normally punctual when it comes to lunch. Unless something comes up, but JARVIS would have informed him if anything had happened. There’s a possibility that she didn’t heal as well as she thought and is still sleeping to regain her strength.

“JARVIS, is Jo still sleeping?” Talking to the AI has always been a little odd, but it’s a little more disconcerting now that he knows that Tony’s brain is linked up to the AI. 

“Yes, Dr. Banner.” The AI isn’t human, but he certainly sounds human. Right now, the AI sounds worried and a little strained. 

“Is she okay?” Were her injuries worse than she let on?

“I enacted the soundproof protocol on Miss Jo’s room one hour and thirteen minutes ago,” the AI recited.

“Soundproof protocol?” Bruce has a shadowy memory of Tony rattling off something about a soundproof something, but he’s a little fuzzy on the details. It’s not uncommon for the two of them to share ideas, but Tony is always working on several projects at a time and it’s hard to keep them all straight. 

“The sound in Miss Jo’s room has reached levels high enough to be heard by others outside of the room.” Jo’s sleeping, but the sound in her room is loud enough to be heard by others.

“She doesn’t have a radio on or anything, does she?”

“No, sir. She appears to be having a violent nightmare.” 

“Where’s Tony?” he asked as he walked through the lab. He was walking through the door when the AI answered. 

“Master Stark is running an errand.” Tony probably has Darcy with him, to let Jo get some more rest. Bruce felt Hulk stirring as he stepped into the elevator, and his hands nervously wrung together as two fingers pressed against the pulse in his wrist. 

_“We’re okay. I’m just worried about Jo.”_

**_“Not okay?”_ **

_“I’m not sure, but you can’t come out unless I ask you to.”_ Hulk huffed, but Bruce knew he understood. Later, Bruce thought as the elevator came to a stop, he’d ask Thor for a spar. That always cheers Hulk up. He quickly walked across the living room and opened Jo’s room without knocking. A strangled scream greeted him, but Jo was the only one in the room. Small streaks of light peeked through the curtains hanging over the balcony doors and lit up a sight that Bruce would never be able to forget. 

Jo was lying on the bedroom floor with her light blue sheets tangled around her ankles, like she’d crawled off the end of the bed in her panic. Her bare legs were curled in tight against her body, and the sweat that coated her skin darkened her gray tank top to almost black. Her fingers were buried in her long hair, and she kept pulling at it as she screamed. It was a tortured sound that made his ears ring, but it didn’t stop him from crossing the room and kneeling down next to her. He wasn’t sure if he should try shaking her awake, because that sometimes only worsened the problem and caused the sleeping person to wake up swinging. Hulk likes Jo, but Bruce doesn’t want to push him. 

“Jo?” He lightly touched her bare arm, and her entire body went still. Instead of screaming, she began to whimper. Somehow, the quiet little sounds were even worse than the loud screams. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Please, stop, I won’t ever do it again. I promise, I promise,” she whispered. Bruce wasn’t sure if it was a nightmare or a memory from her time with ROSE. He firmed the hold he had on her shoulder and leaned down closer to her. 

“Jo, you’re safe. You just need to wake up,” Bruce said at a normal volume. He didn’t want to shout and startle her. 

“I won’t do it again, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Please, please… **NO!** ” She screamed as her body jolted, and one of her hands lashed out to grip his forearm. A quiet hiss escaped from between his teeth as her short nails pierced his skin, and he felt a heavy pressure throbbing against his temples. It’s like when Jo tries to project her thoughts, but this is much stronger. Jo’s attempts feel like a soft breeze brushing across his mental barrier, and this feels like a battering ram. He reached up to rub at the pulsing sensation, but the pain surged and darkened his vision. When he closed his eyes, an image played out against the back of his eyelids. The girl he could see looked vaguely familiar, and that’s when it hit him. He’s seeing Jo’s nightmare. In her panic, she can project images and not just words. Something this advanced should have taken months for her to learn, but this is very clearly her nightmare. 

_There was a man, middle-aged, standing next to a surgical table in a white lab coat. The girl that had to be Jo was lying on it, but he never would have imagined that Jo could look like that. All of her long thick hair was shaved off, and her curves disappeared to show popping hipbones and a protruding sternum. She was naked, except for thin white sheets that covered her small breasts and a small square settled between her legs. Pins were holding back flaps of skin flayed from her torso, and the man had a gloved hand inside of her stomach._

_“Do you realize what you have done, Josephine?” The man’s voice was even and calm. If there wasn’t a girl being tortured on his table, Bruce would have assumed he was just an average guy._

_“I know, I’m sorry, Dr. Serrens. I’ll never do it again, I promise.” Jo was openly sobbing now, loud cries that shook her body and caused fresh blood to drip onto the table. Her thin wrists pushed against the metal cuffs that bound her to the table, but she didn’t seem strong enough to break them. The man twisted his arm, and Jo’s scream echoed in the blindingly white room. “Please, stop. I won’t do it again, I promise.”_

_“Amelia was my favorite nurse, Josephine, and you killed her. She had a husband and a little girl, and you took her away from them. You deserve this pain,” the doctor whispered._

_“I know, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Please, just stop. You’re killing me.” Jo’s voice was soft, so much softer than the voice Bruce has grown accustomed to over the past month._

_“Mmm, and we can’t have that, can we? Not until the telepathy takes, at least.” This is before the telepathy was successfully implanted, but Bruce had no idea that she suffered this much. He knows about the people who have experimented on mutants, and humans, but he didn’t know it was like this._

_“NO! NO!” The doctor was meticulously cutting out a section of her large intestine, and Jo’s sweet voice was distorted by the sound of her scream. Bruce can’t watch anymore of this, and JARVIS said that Jo’s been reliving all of this for over an hour. Even though it’s a dream being pushed into his mind, he still has some kind of power. He pictured himself in the room, walking towards the table where Jo was being held down. He pictured his hand gently touching her shaved head, and her scream cut off as watery green eyes met his._

_“Bruce?” Her voice still sounds so soft, despite the desperate screaming._

_“You need to wake up now, Jo.” He can still hear the man snipping at her intestine._

_“What if I’m back there? What if it was all a dream, and Clint and Natasha don’t come for me?”_

_“Then Hulk will come smash you out. Wake up, Jo.”_

Bruce’s eyes popped open as the pressure on his mind vanished, and he took a moment to just suck in a few deep breaths. He could feel Hulk inside of his mind, like he was pacing, and he reassured the other half of his mind without using words. He just let the feeling expand to them both, and the growling presence was slowly quieted. Once that was done, he glanced down to make sure that Jo was awake. Her fingernails were still embedded in his forearm, and at some point she had curled around where he was kneeling and pressed her cheek against his thigh. She was still crying, but without sound. 

“Rickard hated the sound of crying. The louder the sound, the higher the voltage.” Her normally rough voice was reaching new levels, and she was shaking his legs. The voltage must have been what they used to keep her weak. If the shocks were regular and powerful enough, it would have interfered with her healing and decreased her strength enough to make her an easier captive.

“What can I do?”

“You saw it, didn’t you?” She was shaking so hard that her teeth were rattling, and Bruce was bleeding freely. Normally he’d be worried about the radiation in his blood, but he has a feeling that Jo can survive it. 

“Yes.” There’s no point in lying; Jo would know. 

“I didn’t want you to see.” When she talked about ROSE, she held back on the details. He can understand why now. She sounds so defeated, and he can feel her tears soaking through the material of his pants. 

“I’m sorry you went through that.”

“Fuck!” Bruce grunted as her nails were ripped out of his arm, and he watched with wide eyes as she fluidly rolled to her feet and faced away from him. She’s facing the balcony doors now, and a ray of sunlight highlighted his blood on her fingertips. From where he’s still kneeling, he can easily see the tense set of her shoulders under her hair and see the way that her thighs are trembling. 

“Jo?” A shudder rolled through her body, and her hands clenched into fists. 

“No one knows the specifics. In the debriefings, I gave the most clinical answers I could. Was I tortured? Yes. How? Physically, both instrumental and through neglect, as well as psychologically. I didn’t tell anyone about the electric shocks that were administered to keep me weak; I didn’t tell anyone I was punished for killing a nurse. I didn’t tell anyone I was tortured to test my endurance. No one was ever supposed to know, but you…Fuck, Bruce, you saw it!”

“I didn’t mean to,” he said quietly. She’s mostly still now, except for the clenching and unclenching of her fists, and she won’t look at him. He’s gotten used to the feeling of Jo’s eyes on him, but she won’t turn around. 

“It’s the fuckin’ telepathy! I don’t scar, I heal. I could forget about that fuckin’ place, because there aren’t any marks. But the telepathy, it’s always gonna be here to remind me. It’s usually okay, because of my voice, you know? It’s all rough and shit because Clint shot me with that exploding arrow during the rescue, so it reminds me that there was a rescue. In the dreams though…in the dreams, my voice is still so soft, like the rescue never happened. You heard it, didn’t you?”

“Yes.” She told him about the failed rescue mission and said that her throat never healed properly, but he never would have thought that her voice was that soft. It sounded like two completely different people. He still doesn’t understand why her throat didn’t heal, and she said that night that she didn’t know why either. 

“Do you know what I think, Bruce? I think I’m scared to let it heal, because if it heals, there won’t be anything to remind me that I’m safe. Because you saw, right? But you won’t tell anyone? You won’t tell them that that you saw me?”

“I won’t tell anyone.” The more she talked, the more panicked her voice became. No one knows the specifics, so he’s betting that includes Tony. He watched as she nodded and then curled in on herself again. Her bare knees hit the hardwood floor, and he saw her hands running over her ribs and grabbing at her hips. Like she was feeling the jutting bones of her malnourished body all over again. Her shoulders were shaking, and Bruce knew she was crying silently. 

“Thank you. I wanna be alone now,” she whispered. Bruce slowly got to his feet and glanced down at his bloody arm. The skin around the marks was tinged green as the holes closed up completely. Hulk healed him. 

**_“Don’t go. Help.”_** Bruce followed his instincts and walked over to where Jo was lightly shaking. He knelt behind her so that her back was pressed against his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her torso. His hands rested on the area that had been flayed open all those years ago, and Jo’s fingers lightly rested on top of his own before pressing more firmly. He can still feel her shaking in his arms, and he pressed his cheek against the top of her head. _(It’s like laying on the hospital bed and holding onto her as her body heals itself; she’s shaking against him and crying.)_

“My father was an alcoholic. Some of my earliest memories are of the smell of his favorite whiskey and the feeling of his fists. He hated me, thought that his nuclear exposure was passed onto me and mutated my genes. It’s too bad he didn’t live long enough to see Hulk,” Bruce said with a dry laugh. He felt Jo lightly pressing against his mind, a gentle breeze, and he let her in. He nudged her in the right direction, and he let her see him as a child curled into a small ball as his father beat him just for existing. 

“Bruce, you don’t have to—”

“When I was six, my mother tried to stop him and was killed. My father was taken to a mental hospital, and I went to live with my aunt. I think that’s where Hulk comes from. All of those years of abuse just taught me how to hide. Hide the bruises, hide the anger. I buried everything until I wasn’t even human anymore.” He could see his mother laying on the floor with her neck at a wrong angle, but she looked like she was sleeping. He could feel his father’s hands on his already bruised shoulders as he was forced to repeat that it was an accident. She fell, and it was just an accident. Of course, the truth came out just a few weeks later, but those were the worst weeks of his life. There was no mother to run to and wash the blood off of him when his father took the beatings a little too far. 

“Bruce.” Jo didn’t say anything else, but she didn’t have to. They could both feel the way his fingers sunk into her flesh to anchor him to the now, and they could both hear Hulk’s loud growls at the remembered pain. Jo could even hear a single thought that echoed with both of their voices, _“In the dark, where HulkBruce hide.”_ Jo didn’t even have to hear the meaning out loud to understand; she could see a flash of a childlike Bruce, with big brown eyes and a bloody nose, hiding in the depths of a closet. 

“Now we both have secrets to keep.” Jo twisted around in his arms and pressed her face against his neck, and he felt her hot silent tears falling against his skin. He didn’t know if she was crying for her or for him, but it didn’t really matter. He felt drained and numb, because he never talks about his childhood. It hurts too much to even think about. 

Jo rose to her feet, and she lightly tugged on his arm until he was standing too. He let her pull him over to her ruined bed and even cooperated when she pushed him to sit down. She swiftly got on her knees to start plucking at his shoes, and he watched in a numb fog as she pulled both off. Once his feet were bare, she crawled up onto the bed next to him and pulled him to lay down with her. Her toes snagged the blanket on the far side of the bed, and they curled around each other under the cocoon of the blanket. Jo nuzzled her nose against his chest and slipped one hand under his shirt to press against the bare skin of his stomach. Her legs tangled with his, and he reached down to grab one bare thigh. This isn’t the first time that they’ve held onto each other, but everything feels different now. 

“When we wake up, everything will be better. You’ll go back to the lab and be your super genius self, and I’ll go annoy Tony until it’s time for dinner. Then we’ll all be together, just like normal. Okay, Bruce?” Her rough voice was small and hopeful, and Bruce’s fingers flexed against the muscle of her thigh.

“Okay, Jo.”

**.xXx.**

Bruce woke up slowly and not alone, both of which were different from the usual. He normally woke up instantly alert and on his own. Right now, he’s as far from alone as he can get. He’s got one hand curved around a very bare thigh and the other is buried under a mass of hair. A leg is curled around his, a cheek is pressed against his chest, and a finger is idly flicking one of the buttons on his shirt. When he glanced down, Jo’s eyes were open but unfocused.

“Okay?” His voice was sleep rough, and Jo tipped her head back to look at him. 

“I was just thinkin’.”

“About?” Earlier, before their nap, was a little intense. He still feels worn out from the emotional outpour, and he’s pretty sure that he can hear Hulk snoring somewhere deep in the recesses of his mind. 

“When’s Hulk’s birthday?”

“What?” He’s starting to feel a little more awake, but it looks like he’s stuck saying one word at a time. 

“I was just wonderin’ when Hulk’s birthday. I know he’s another part of you, biggest case of multiple personalities I’ve ever seen, but you two are kinda separate. So, do you share a birthday? Or does Hulk have one of his own?”

Dark green eyes were staring directly into his own, completely unwavering, as she waited for an answer. From the serious look on her face earlier, Bruce assumed she was thinking about her horrible nightmare and all the other associated memories it was bound to dredge up. Instead, she was trying to figure out if Hulk had his own birthday. No one has ever asked him that particular question about Hulk, and he can admit that he’s never thought of it either. Why would he?

“Why?” Her eyebrows pulled together, and her left cheek twitched like she was biting the inside of it. 

“Steve said he’d help me with my baking, because I’ve never really gotten the hang of it. So, I was thinkin’, what’s the best thing to bake? Which got me thinkin’ about birthday cakes and then I was thinkin’ about your birthday, because I pretty much know everybody else’s. I don’t know when your birthday is—”

“April fourteenth.”

“—I’ll keep that in mind. I didn’t know if Hulk had a separate birthday though. I thought about asking him, but he’s sleeping pretty hard in there.” She was smiling at him with one of her wide grins, that showed the dimple in her left cheek and a flash of white teeth. He’s starting to realize that a normal smile from her is like Tony’s smirks, a fake smile that people expect to see. The wide lopsided grin is a real smile. 

“I…you…um, hmm.” He doesn’t have an answer, and Jo is still looking up at him with a real smile. She’s lying in bed with him, even though he’s seen her flayed open and she’s seen him crying in a dark closet. For weeks, she’s touched with him ease and smiled at him and teased him and purposely made him blush…She’d seen Hulk for all of thirty seconds and called him her hero. 

“Did I break you, Doc? Are you—” His hand was already buried under her hair with his fingers pressing against her scalp, which made it easy to tip her head back just a little bit more and at just the right angle to brush his lips against hers. It barely fit the definition of a kiss, but Jo’s quick little intake of air said otherwise. 

“Thank you,” he whispered as his lips brushed across hers again. It definitely wasn’t anything like the romance books that Jo loved to read. Their noses were pressed together, they were both a little sweaty from the shared body heat under a fluffy blanket, and there was morning breath in the afternoon. 

“If that’s how you thank a girl, I need to start doin’ more. Got any laundry that needs doing? Shoes that need new laces?” This close, he could see all the subtle colors that made up her dark green eyes and feel the curl of her lips as she smiled. 

“I could use some more towels in my bathroom,” he teased. Jo’s been teasing him for weeks, so it’s time for him to get just a little revenge. 

“Consider it done. How do you feel about payment up front?” He caught a flash of a young girl slipping out of a window, just seconds before setting eyes on Natasha Romanoff for the first time, and himself mumbling, _“Should’ve got paid up front, Banner.”_

“It’s a must.” Jo leaned up into him this time and turned their barely-there kisses into actual ones. If he ever thought about kissing Jo, which he didn’t, he would have imagined her to be an aggressive kisser. With hands pulling at his hair and teeth sinking into his lip. If anything, she was the exact opposite. Her body was warm and relaxed where it was draped across him, and she was happy to let him lead. His lips were soft on hers, gently tugging, as his hands stroked across her skin.

“Fuck, Doc, where have you been hiding?” Her eyes were big as she stared up at him, and he realized that her hand was up his shirt again. 

“India. Kolkata, mostly.” Jo huffed and rolled her eyes, but she tipped her head back and looked at him like she was waiting for something. He braced his palm against the back of her neck and brought his lips back down to hers. Jo sighed as her nails lightly scratched against his stomach, and he felt her body moving against his as she shifted up the bed a little. She was still following his lead, and he kept the kisses light. There was a part of him, deep down inside, that was scared to do anything else. There was still a fear of rejection, of revulsion, and of hurting—

“Thank, remember? You can’t hurt me. Hulk won’t hurt me, and he’s sleeping right now anyway. You don’t have to hold back with me,” she whispered with a light kiss to the base of his throat. The hand under his shirt was resting over his heart now, with one finger tapping out the calm beat. She was shaking. Bruce’s first thought was that she was scared and trying to hide it, but he knew she wouldn’t do that. She’d admit it if she was scared. No, she’s shaking because of how tense she is. Like she’s holding herself back. From him. For him. 

“I know, I just—”

_“Bruce, please.”_ He gripped her biceps and hauled her up his body. She moaned before he even got his lips on her, and he swallowed the sound as he forced her lips to part for him. Strong thighs squeezed his ribcage as hands tangled in his hair, and Bruce felt a flash of heat as she undulated on top of him. His own hands gripped her thighs to pull her just a little bit closer before pushing under her tank top to feel the flexing of her spine. Her tongue brushed against his lips before retreating and then dipping completely inside, like she just couldn’t help herself. The grip on his hair was almost painful and completely amazing, and Jo was making quiet little rumbling whimpers in the back of her throat. 

“Jo.” Whatever else he was going to say was cut off as teeth scraped against his Adam’s apple before lips curled around it with a soft lick. Jo’s lips danced across his throat, with small nibbling bites and teasing licks, as she made her way to his ear. He knew he was squeezing her hips hard enough to bruise, but he couldn’t let go. Not while her tongue was tracing the outline of his ear. 

“You can touch me, you know. Touch me, Bruce,” Jo breathed into his ear. He barely recognized the growling noise that came out of him, but it made Jo shiver on top of him and nip his earlobe. 

“I, uh…oh.” She had grabbed one of his hands and taken care of it herself, and he felt her laugh tickle against his collarbone. He spared a moment to wonder when she’d unbuttoned his shirt as his fingers curled around the soft flesh of her ass but then Jo was kissing him again. Teeth grazed his bottom lip and a tongue soothed the small sting, and Jo’s thighs flexed against his sides. 

“Hey, Jo, you’ll never believe—” Jo jumped like she’d been shocked at the sound of the loud voice, and she sat up on his stomach. 

“Tony?” When he looked over to the doorway, Tony was standing frozen just inside of the room with his mouth open. He was dressed in slacks and a red button up, he was even wearing shoes, and a pair of sunglasses were on top of his head. 

“You? And Bruce?” Jo was sitting on his stomach and it was obvious what they’d been doing. His hands are still gripping Jo’s soft curves, and her lips are kiss swollen. 

“We, uh…Well, see, what happened was—”

“I knew it! What’d I tell you?! Where’s Darcy? She owes me a twenty.”

“What?!” Jo’s rough voice echoed in the room, and Tony turned back to look at her. Bruce knows that he should say something, but he’s not really sure what. Also, what exactly did Tony know and why does he owe Darcy money?

“Your faces!” Tony doubled over in laughter, and Jo huffed as she crossed her arms. She’s not making any attempts at moving off of him, but he has moved his hands so that he’s lightly holding onto her hips instead of…other places. “JARVIS! I need pictures!”

“I’m gonna take a picture of your face with my fist! Where have you been?! Those aren’t lab clothes!” Tony stopped laughing and rubbed the back of his neck, and Bruce could feel how tense Jo was because she still hasn’t moved off of him. 

“About that—”

“Avengers! Get your asses down to Greenwich! Now!” Fury’s voice echoed from all the different comms, and Jo was suddenly standing next to the bed. 

“You and me are having a talk later,” she said and pointed at Tony. Bruce’s fellow scientist leaned to the side until their eyes met, and Tony’s smile made Bruce feel like hiding. 

“We so are. Suit up!” Tony disappeared, and Jo ran her fingers through her hair. When Jo turned back towards him, he was sitting on the edge of the bed and pulling his shirt off. 

“Hey, Bruce?”

“Hmm?” He stood up so he could pull his pants down, because he’s already wearing a pair of Hulk shorts. He’s always wearing them, just in case. 

“We can, uh, talk later, right?” Her voice didn’t sound as strong as it usually did, and he looked up to see her staring at him. She should be preparing to leave, but she’s just standing there and staring at him. “You’re so cute when you’re confused. Talk later?”

“Yes, of course.” She smiled at him, widely, and leaned forward to lightly kiss his lips. 

“Wait for me!” she yelled as she ducked into her closet. When she came out a minute later, she was wearing a pair of faded jeans that clung to her legs and a dark blue tank top. A pair of heavy looking boots dangled from her fingers, and she was twirling a brush. 

“That was fast.” Her eyes met his, and her tanned skin was still a little flushed. 

“Changing is the easy part. One of these days, the world is going to end while I’m trying to put on my steel-toes and put my hair up,” she said as she plopped back down on the bed. She started dragging the brush through her long hair, and Bruce felt a little awkward just standing there and watching her. Jo asked him not to leave though. 

“Can I help?” She kept brushing her hair as she looked up at him, and he knew he was blushing as her dark eyes ran over him. 

“Do you know how to put up hair?”

“I can’t do that bun thing, but I know how to braid.” Something flashed across her face, but it was too quick for him to read. 

“Are you fast?” He thought of shaking and feverish patients asking for a little relief, and he remembers his fingers going through the motions like it was second nature. Their hair wasn’t as long as Jo’s, but he’s sure he can do it quickly. When he nodded, Jo held out the brush. Getting back onto the bed was easier than he thought it would be, and Jo held as still as possible as she tugged on her boots. 

Her hair was thick and soft, but he didn’t have time to just enjoy the weight of it. His fingers made quick work of sectioning off her hair and braiding it all together, and he used a hair tie that was wrapped around the brush handle to hold it all together. Jo had just finished tying the second boot when he eased off the bed, and he watched as she pulled the rope of hair over her shoulder. She ran her fingers down the length of it with a small smile and then she twisted it up behind her so that it wouldn’t hang down her back. Bruce was standing in the doorway now and still just looking at her, and it felt like someone had punched him in the stomach when she looked up at him. 

“We should probably,” he said and waved his hand. The look in Jo’s eyes said that she wanted to devour him, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to stop if they really got started. Jo got to her feet and walked over to him, and Bruce felt like he was rooted to the spot as she pressed up against him. The doorway was pressing painfully against his spine, but Jo’s soft breasts were cushioned against his chest as her lips moved against his like she couldn’t get enough. When she pulled back, the skin around her lips was red from where he’d forgotten to shave and her eyes were wide enough to show the whites all the way around. 

“Let’s go beat up some baddies, yeah? And later, let’s celebrate.” She was walking off before he could come up with a reply, and he lightly shook his head as he hurried behind her. He didn’t have time to think about what just happened; there would be plenty of time for that later. Right now, he needs to wake Hulk up and get to work. He also needs to stop looking at how great Jo’s ass looks in those jeans. Jo looked over her shoulder at him as the elevator came to a stop and winked, and there was a little extra sway in her step as she walked across the foyer. 

“I hate this,” Clint grumbled as they reached the group. Tony and Steve were missing, Darcy was standing right next to Thor and patting his armored shoulder, and Clint and Natasha were both glaring. 

“You two still benched?” Jo asked as the assassins. 

“We haven’t been cleared for combat,” Natasha grit out. 

“We got this, Nat,” Tony called out as him and Steve walked off the elevator. He’s in his suit, but the faceplate is up. 

“You guys helped with the fire monsters though,” Darcy pointed out. 

“Against Director Fury’s orders,” Steve said quietly. 

“Don’t worry, guys. We’ll take care of this and be right back,” Jo said quickly. He could hear the others talking, but he didn’t register the words. He was focusing on Hulk and trying to get the big guy to wake up. A moment later, he felt a gentle pull on his wrist and looked over at Jo. It looks like they’re leaving. The sun was bright when they stepped outside, so their nap must not have been that long. The big guy came awake with a roar and sleepy eyes blinked down at Jo a moment later.

“Smash now?” The question should have sounded angry or menacing, but it mostly just sounded curious. 

“That’s right, big guy. We both get to do some smashin’ today. You mind giving me a lift?” Bruce felt Hulk’s giant hand wrapping around Jo’s torso and then she was sitting on Hulk’s shoulder. Tony flew off in front of them with Thor right behind him, and he could hear the quiet roar of Steve’s motorcycle. “Just follow the rest of the boys. We don’t want to get left behind and miss all the fun.”

Hulk huffed but did as she asked, and Bruce settled back in his mind. He has a feeling they’ve got a big fight ahead of them, so Hulk needs to focus. Bruce can think about everything else later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally starting to get good, hmm?
> 
> In the next chapter, there will be a little action and we might find out what Tony's been up to.


	19. If You'll Have Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _all i want_   
>  _is the taste that your lips allow_   
>  _my, my, my, my_   
>  _oh, give me love_   
>  **Give Me Love by Ed Sheeran**   
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small Warning: there is a little bit of lovin' at the end of the chapter. Nothing graphic, but feel free to skip it if you're not comfortable reading.

“Tony! You take Vapor! Thor, take Vector! Hulk, Ironclad! Jo, we’ve got X-Ray!” Fury’s voice was still ringing in her ears as he gave them a quick overview of who they’re up against, and Jo carefully moved so that she was standing on Hulk’s shoulder. She could already see Tony going after a ball of green gas that resembled a woman’s form, and thunder roared as lightning streaked across the sky. Jo lightly ran a hand through Hulk’s hair and then launched herself off of his shoulder. She knocked into a red form that made her teeth lock together as she was blasted away from him, and Steve caught her before she could crash to the ground. 

“Okay?” Steve asked as X-Ray moved down to face them. 

“Never better,” she grinned. She caught a flash of a smile coming from the Captain’s direction and then it was right back to fighting. Just another day on the job.

**.xXx.**

“Please tell me we get a day off after that,” Jo groaned. The entire area, which spans quite a few blocks, was sectioned off. The destruction wasn’t nearly as bad as it could’ve been, but she still hates the look of it. She’s sitting next to a broken piece of sidewalk and looking up at Director Fury, who does not look happy. Well, he looks less happy than usual.

“I thought this was your day job.” Tony’s still in the suit, but the faceplate is up. He also looks way too happy, but he’s not really injured so at least there’s that. 

“I’m retired. You’re my day job now.” Fury is still glaring, but Jo’s not sure which one of them he’s actually glaring at. Maybe both?

“Bug! Go make sure the perimeter is secure!” A woman in the standard agent jumpsuit hurried off, and Jo cocked an eyebrow at the imposing director. 

“Does Hill know you’ve already replaced her?” Fury glared down at her with one eye while Tony cackled next to her, and she just grinned up at him. He can’t technically do anything to her, since she’s not a SHIELD agent. 

“We need to be better prepared,” Steve said as he appeared next to Fury. Her and Tony had matching groans, but they both quieted down when Steve looked their way. It’s hard not to feel chagrined under Captain America’s disapproving eyes. 

“Damn right you do!” Fury snapped out. 

“Hey! Two out of four ain’t bad!” Tony protested. 

“We should have captured them all,” Thor said solemnly. Jo hates seeing the god look so down. Where’s Darcy? Darcy always cheers the big guy up. 

“We got our guys! You two are the ones that messed up,” Tony said and pointed at Thor and Hulk. Tony got Vapor while Jo and Steve wrangled X-Ray, but Vector and Ironclad managed to escape. Jo punched Tony on a metal arm just hard enough to sting a little and then surged to her feet. Once she was standing, she stood next to Hulk and looked up at him. 

“They won’t be able to resist coming back, and we’ll get them then. Right, big guy?” Hulk huffed and looked away from her, and Jo had to command her face not to twist into a pout. 

“We’ll get them next time,” Steve said with a kind of confidence that gave Jo goosebumps. Now, this is her leader. Clear eyes, a set jaw, and enough determination to take down several armies. 

“Yeah, next time,” Tony huffed and lumbered to his feet. His eyes met hers, and Jo raised a brow at her boss. She can feel his thoughts, lightly brushing against her own, and she shook her head. As fun as flying with Iron Man sounds, she’s gonna pass. Tony and Thor can fly back, Steve has his bike, so she’ll walk back to the mansion with Hulk. She kept her eyes locked with Tony’s and thought as hard as she could; she pictured her bridge and saw the words floating across the air to Tony, _“See you at home.”_

“What are you waitin’ for? Get out of here! And keep your comms on! Bug, let’s get the hell out of here!” The short-haired agent rolled her dark eyes, which Jo saw as daring and hilarious, before following after him. Tony and Thor both leapt into the air and disappeared, and Jo walked between Hulk and Steve for a moment. 

“Need a ride?” Steve asked her. He was already sitting on his bike and looking over at her, but she could still see Hulk out of the corner of her eye. 

“Nah, I’m just gonna walk. See you back at home.” Steve nodded once before taking off, and Jo fell into step next to Hulk. She slowly reached up and wrapped a hand around his pinky finger, and the big guy huffed quietly but didn’t try to dislodge her. She can feel his thoughts, like giant boulders rolling down a mountainside, but she’s not looking for anything specific. Hulk will talk when he’s good and ready, so she just held onto his pinky and kept pace with him.

“Hulk lost. Hulk never loses.” They’re away from the majority of the destruction now, but the streets are still pretty clear. Jo reached up with her free hand to pat somewhere in the vague area of his elbow and then knocked her temple against his arm. 

“You didn’t lose. The only way you lose is if you die, and you’re clearly very much alive. There’ll be another fight, and you’ll get him then.” Hulk’s huff was more of a snort this time, and Jo racked her brain for a way to comfort him. She hates hearing the big guy sound so defeated.

“Still angry. Tin can not very strong, not like Hulk. Hulk was…” Jo watched the way his brow furrowed and took a little peek inside his mind. She can’t hear Bruce, but she can feel his presence somewhere deep in the back of Hulk’s mind. It was like straining to hear rain against the ground when thunder was echoing. If Jo had to guess, she’d say it’s like Bruce is meditating while locked inside of his own mind. It’s all very confusing. 

“Distracted. You were distracted.” Hulk huffed and nodded, which Jo took as his only response. “Thor probably wants to rest up some so you can’t spar with anyone, but Tony fixed up your sub-basement as your own personal training room. You can go down there and smash to your heart’s content.”

Hulk didn’t say anything, but he didn’t need to. They walked silently down the streets with only a few strange looks from passersby, and Jo was thankful that they kept their distance. Not because she was worried about Hulk hurting anyone or anything; she just doesn’t feel like dealing with any assholes right now. X-Ray blew her up pretty good, and she’s probably gonna be feeling this fight for a couple of days. She can deal though. Everyone on their side is in one piece, and the Fantastic Knock-Offs didn’t leave any casualties in their wake. Jo pressed her thumb against the front door once they reached the mansion, and the two of them paused in the foyer. The mansion is quiet, a little too quiet if you ask her, and she looked up at Hulk.

“Jo rest and heal,” Hulk said and poked her shoulder. Jo reached up to grab his massive hand in both of hers and made sure to look in his eyes.

“Smash until you feel better but don’t overdo it, okay? Hulk needs to rest and heal some too.” Hulk huffed with a nod and gently pulled his hand away before walking off towards the elevator. She wants to take Hulk’s advice, she really does. A long nap and nice dream about his alter-ego (sans interruptions) is what she wants to do, but it’s not what she’s going to do. First things first, she’s thirsty. 

“Jo?” She looked up as she walked into the kitchen and met a pair of calm blue eyes. He hasn’t even changed out of his uniform yet. 

“Hey, Steve. Do you have the urge to drink an ocean dry too?” Her eyes darted down to the three empty water bottles on the counter in front of him, and his smile was a little sheepish when he looked back over at her. 

“There’s still some left.” He was already turning back towards the fridge, so Jo made her way over to the counter and accepted the two bottles of water that he passed over. Best leader ever. 

“Thanks. I feel like I’ve been trying to swallow cotton.” The only sound for the next few seconds was the crinkling of her water bottle as she chugged it down, but she’s pretty sure that Steve understands. 

“I debriefed everyone, and they’re okay,” Steve said and took a quieter sip of his drink. 

“Where’d everyone wander off to?” Okay, that’s one bottle down. One to go. 

“Thor is going over his fight, move by move, with Clint and Natasha to see what he did wrong. Darcy is with him. Maria is in her room, still talking to Fury, I bet. Tony is back in the lab. How’s Hulk?” Jo slowly absorbed the information and absently nodded at the new information. Quick shower and then she’s off to find Tony; he’s hiding something from her so she needs to get to the bottom of that. 

“Working off some tension in his room. He’ll be okay,” Jo reported. 

“And you?” Jo set down her second empty bottle and turned to face Steve, who looks like she probably does. There’s dust in his hair and all over his suit, from being pushed against cement, and a little bit of blood under his chin. 

“I’m good, just need a hot shower. You holding up okay, Cap’n?” She likes Steve. They cook dinner together, and he tells her about his life because for some reason he trusts her like that. There’s no one else she’d rather have at her back in a fight. He jokes with her, with his dry and witty sense of humor, and he takes care of them. 

“I’ll be fine. Dinner at seven?”

“I’ll be here.” She gave him one last smile before walking out, and she slowly stretched out some of her sore muscles as she rode the elevator up to her room. Her feet shuffled as she made her way across the floor, and an actual moan worked its way out when the hot water hit her aching back. Oh yeah, this is what she needs after a big fight. (She is not going to think about Bruce, shirtless, in her bed. Nope, not going to think about it one little bit.)

She rinsed off as quickly as she could, and she sighed a little as she undid her braid so that she could wash her hair. Definitely asking Bruce how he did that later, after they discuss other things. Like him being shirtless in her bed. Quiet reprimands were still slipping from her lips when she stepped out of the shower, and she kept a towel around her hair as she walked into her closet. She tugged on a pair of bright red leggings and one of Tony’s _Metallica_ tee shirts, and the worn out cotton felt soft against her skin. Brushing her hair and putting it up took ten long minutes, and she was panting when she was done. Maybe a small haircut wouldn’t hurt. Just a couple of inches. 

“JARVIS? Can you ask Darcy to come up to Tony’s lab?” she asked as she stepped out of her bedroom. 

“She is currently on her way up. I’ll hold the elevator for you.” She could hear the doors opening, and she felt her lips pulling into a smile when Darcy’s face greeted her. 

“Hey, mamalicious! Have fun beating people up?” Jo swung an arm around Darcy’s neck so that she could pull the younger woman against her side, and the sound of Darcy’s loud laughter was almost enough to make her forget about all of her lingering aches and pains. 

“Of course,” she grinned as the elevator started up again. 

“Probably needed it after another boring meeting,” Darcy mused. Jo felt her body slowly tensing up, and Darcy must have felt it too because she tipped her head back to meet Jo’s eyes. “You know, the meeting that you and Tony went to. That’s why you weren’t in the lab when I got there this morning. JARVIS said Tony was in a meeting.”

“I’m gonna kill that idiot,” Jo managed to get out before stepping out of the elevator. She could hear Darcy walking behind her, but she’s locked in on the lab and Tony’s whirlwind thoughts. What was that idiot thinking?! When she asked JARVIS if Tony was okay this morning, the AI said he was fine. He just didn’t mention that Tony wasn’t even in the building!

“There’s my two favorite—”

“Where were you?!” Her hands are braced against Tony’s shoulders, just in case she needs to give him a few hard shakes, and his eyes are dark and wide. 

“You didn’t go with him to the meeting.” Darcy’s voice was a quiet realization, and Jo felt a muscle in her cheek twitching as her teeth ground against each other. 

“I was still tired from healing. Why would you leave without telling me?” She’s mostly worried about him, because what if something had happened to him when she wasn’t there? Another, smaller, part of her is just hurt. He left her without saying a word, and he got JARVIS to lie to her and Darcy. 

“I was perfectly safe. I knew where I was going, and I took a suit with me,” Tony said slowly. 

“What is so important that you could just take off like that?” Tony’s looking at her like he wants to apologize, but Tony Stark doesn’t make mistakes. 

“Pepper.” It’s just one word, but it’s the only answer she needs. She let go of his shoulders and took a small step back, and she can feel Darcy’s eyes moving across both of them. 

“Is someone going to explain what’s going on? Because I am so lost,” Darcy said when they were quiet for a few more moments. 

“Yeah, let’s get this over with. C’mon, sweetheart.” Tony grabbed her hand and tugged her over to the couch, where he arranged them into one of their usual positions. Her back was pressed up against an arm of the couch, one leg ran along the back of the couch while the other one dropped to the floor, and Tony sprawled himself between her spread legs. Darcy grabbed one of the chairs and plopped into it, and they waited for Tony to start talking. 

“I woke up early, but I didn’t want to wake you up because I know that fight took a lot out of you. I wanted you to rest, and I was just going to the lab. I’d been working for a few hours when Pepper called and asked if we could meet. JARVIS said that you were in your room, so I went to tell you but…”

“I was sleeping,” Jo whispered. 

“And so was Darcy. You’ve both earned a day of rest, I knew the place, I had a suit…I didn’t see a problem. I wasn’t even going to be gone that long, but we got to talking and—”

“Pepper, as in, your ex? Didn’t she break up with you?” It was an innocent question, but Jo could feel the way that Tony tensed against her. Yes, Pepper left and Tony fell apart. Jo’s the one that put him back together, bit by bit, and she really hopes that this little meeting didn’t undo all of her hard work. She blinked and looked down, and she noticed that her hands were held protectively over the arc reactor. Like she could keep him safe if she held on tight enough. 

“We parted on good terms, and we’re still very close,” Tony said with a pointed look in Darcy’s direction. He’s thinking about the way that Pepper looked today; they sat outside, and the sunlight made Pepper’s hair glow. The light blue shirt nearly matched her eyes, and her smile made him feel warm. Everything about her always lit him up inside; she was his sun.

“Next time, let me know before you leave. Even if it is to just go see Pepper,” she said quietly. Is Tony really okay? She knows that seeing Pepper must have been hard, and she doesn’t want to see Tony hurt like that again. Never again. 

“About that, she might start showing up around here. Occasionally.” This would be so much better if she could just see his face. He feels relaxed where he’s laying against her and his thoughts are at the same whirlwind pace as usual, but what if he’s just pretending at being okay?

“Are you two getting back together?” Darcy sounded a mixture of excited and guarded, and Jo waited for the answer. 

“We’re just friends.” Tony’s never loved anyone the way that he loves Pepper, and Jo’s pretty sure that it’s the same for Pepper. Can two people like that ever be just friends?

“Does that mean I don’t get two Christmases?” Jo and Tony turned to look at Darcy at the same time, with nearly matching expressions, and Darcy just shrugged. “What? Two Christmases means more presents and more food.”

“Sorry, kid, we’re still one big happy family,” Tony drawled out. 

“Whatevs, I’m going to find something to eat. You two try to keep your clothes on,” Darcy said as she smoothly got to her feet. Jo’s not trying to read anyone’s mind, but she can hear Darcy’s surface thoughts. Darcy wants to give them a little alone time, to talk stuff out, and she also wants a snack. 

“Don’t eat too much! Steve and I are cooking at seven!” Jo called out as Darcy reached the doorway. A raised hand was her only answer and then she was alone with Tony. She kept one hand pressed against his arc reactor, with only little shafts of light escaping from between her fingers, and she moved her other hand up to his hair. It’s sweaty and a little tangled; she’ll have to wash it later. 

“I really am okay,” Tony said after a few quiet moments. 

“It must have been nice to see her again,” Jo said and twirled some of his hair around her finger. His hair is always perfect in magazines and random paparazzi shots, but it’s really a mess most of the time. 

“It was. I’ve missed her.” His fingers are trailing patterns across her knee, mostly circles. Before Jo came along, there was only Pepper. Even before they were _TonyandPepper_ , she was there for him. Cleaning up after him and keeping him alive. As much as he misses being with her, he also just misses her. Jo’s known that since the beginning; Pepper is always there in the back of his mind. 

“Whatever happens, I’m here for you.” She nuzzled her cheek across the top of his head for just a moment and then went back to playing with random pieces of his hair. 

“Can we stop talking about me now and talk about you and Bruce?”

“I thought you loved talking about yourself?” He twisted around enough so that they could lock eyes, finally, and raised a brow. Okay, now it’s her turn to tell what happened. She told him about the nightmare and Bruce waking her up, which included Bruce’s little dream walking moment. She kept the next little part to herself, because Bruce trusted her with a piece of himself and she’s not gonna betray that trust. She did say that they were both emotionally exhausted afterwards and decided to take a nap. Then there’s what happened after the nap…

“Hulk’s birthday? All of that started because you were thinking about Hulk’s birthday?” Tony sounds confused, which she understands. She’s still a little confused too. 

“Kinda? I dunno, it just happened. It’s not like we’ve had a chance to talk about it. Hulk’s down in his room right now because he was a little upset about his fight with Iron Clad,” Jo rushed out. Now that everything is slowing down, she’s really starting to think about what happened. She kissed Bruce. Or, Bruce kissed her. Either way, they kissed. 

“But you are going to talk about it?” Tony said slowly. 

“Yeah, of course we are. Later,” Jo said with a little shrug. She asked Bruce if they were going to talk, and he said yes. So they’re going to talk about what happened.

“And how do you want this talk to end?” She smoothed her fingers through his hair as she tried to think of an answer, because she’s not really sure. Except she’s completely sure and absolutely terrified. 

“What if he thinks it was a mistake? Or a fluke? What if he can’t even look at me later? What if he asks me to give him space? I don’t wanna give him space! We don’t have to, you know, do anything but I really like being his friend and—” Jo’s eyes crossed as she looked down at the hand covering her mouth, and Tony’s dark eyes were staring up at her in what looked like amusement. If he laughs, she’s biting him. 

“Just tell him how you feel and work from there.” He’s talking quietly, which is ridiculous because they’re the only ones in the lab. Tony slowly moved his hand so that he was cupping her cheek instead of silencing her, and Jo reached up to rest her hand over his. 

“I can do that.” Tony smiled at her, a grin wide enough to show his teeth, and then gracefully moved to his feet. Jo closed her eyes and melted back against the couch, because it’s been a long day and she wants a little nap before going down to cook dinner. Well, before going down to assist the Cap’n in making dinner. 

“And Jo?” She hummed to show she heard him but didn’t bother opening her eyes. It’s nap time. “I think he likes you too.”

**.xXx.**

“Steve! What’s for dinner?” Jo asked as she slid into the kitchen. Steve, who was already standing at the stove, turned his head to smile at her. Steve has the prettiest smile. She’d follow that smile into battle.

“Hamburgers and home fries?” Jo’s stomach let out a quiet grumble, so that’s a yes. 

“I’ll get the potatoes!” Steve worked on turning the giant hunk of hamburger meat into perfect patties while she peeled the potatoes, and they worked in silence for a little while. Jo likes cooking with Steve. He’s good at giving directions, he’s a great conversationalist, and they can work in silence without it getting awkward. 

“I got a phone call earlier,” Steve said as he flipped a patty on the little grill. Jo looked up from her pile of sliced potatoes to meet the captain’s eyes. Sometimes she’s still not sure why Steve picked her as his pseudo-therapist, but she’s glad he did. She likes knowing that she can help him out a little. 

“From who?” She kept on slicing as she waited for an answer, and Steve flipped another few patties before replying. 

“Logan. He was calling for you, but JARVIS told him you were in the shower and redirected it to me.” Yeah, that sounds like JARVIS. The AI is just as meddlesome as his creator. 

“How’d it go?” Blue eyes flicked over to her, and Jo tried to give him a reassuring smile. She’s also making a mental note to kick Logan’s ass if he said anything to upset her Captain. 

“It was…okay. We talked about the war and how much things have changed since the forties, and he mentioned he was thinking of coming down for a visit.” Steve’s voice sounded a little off, and she kinda gets it. Since waking up, Steve has felt out of place. It must have been a little weird talking to someone from way back when.

“That’s good. I miss the old man,” she said as she started frying up the potato slices. She does miss Logan, but she’s not really eager to get him in the same room as Tony. 

“He still sounds the same.”

“Looks the same too. Sideburns and all,” she grinned. Steve smiled back, and he looked a little more relaxed now. A little less haunted. “So, do you think this is enough?”

“A small mountain should be enough to feed all of us.” Their eyes could barely meet over the mound of sliced potatoes, and Jo shrugged. They eat a lot, especially after a fight. 

“If you say so, Cap.”

**.xXx.**

Dinner was…normal. Somewhat. Jo and Natasha are trading little jabs with Tony egging them on and Thor reprimanding them; Clint is talking to his chicken while feeding her bits of fried potatoes; Steve is mother-henning Maria, who is calmly explaining all the different ways she can handle a knife which means that she can cut up her own meatloaf. So, yeah, normal. Bruce is missing because he’s taking a nap, as JARVIS helpfully informed them, and she’s eating her delicious dinner and listening to everyone around her. Something just feels a little off though, and she can’t put her finger on it.

A nudge against her calf snapped her out of her thoughts, and she jumped a little before meeting Clint’s eyes across the table. The archer was trying not to laugh at her jumpiness and mostly succeeding, but Darcy doesn’t like that smug little smile on his face. She kicked him back, which wasn’t as effective since she’s barefoot, and he retaliated. He caught her next kick between his calves, and Darcy tried to wiggle free but couldn’t. Nope. Her ankle was firmly caught between Clint’s very strong legs. Hopefully she’s not blushing. Too much. 

_“You okay?”_ Clint mouthed. His lips moved but there was no sound. It’s not like it matters; Natasha is yelling at Jo in Russian, and the mutant is laughing so hard that her entire face has turned red. Does Jo speak Russian? Wait, Clint asked her a question. 

_“Yeah,”_ she mouthed back. She is okay, something just feels off. Maybe it’s because Bruce is missing. Yeah, the other scientist is the quietest of them all but his presence is always felt. She shrugged one shoulder while nodding her head, to back up her declaration of being okay, and she tried to will Clint to look away. It’s like she can feel his gaze. 

“Darcy!”

“Present!” She jumped again as she answered, and Tony started cackling. She knew he was an evil genius! Extra emphasis on the evil part. 

“You okay, kid? I’ve been calling your name for, like, a whole minute,” Jo said and popped a giant bite of meatloaf into her mouth. 

“Yeah, I’m okay. Did you need something?” She has really got to stop spacing out so much.

“Can you watch Tony after dinner for me? I wanna get in some reading time before bed.” Tony was pouting next to her now and whining about not needing a baby-sitter, and Darcy took a big gulp of water before answering. What is with her tonight?

“No problem,” Darcy said with a smile. She doesn’t mind just chilling in the lab with Tony; there’s usually music and sometimes she gets to see things explode. 

“Father daughter bonding time!” Tony yelled. Darcy groaned and rolled her eyes, like a sullen teenager that’s being embarrassed, but she couldn’t keep the smile off her face. Yeah, just another night.

**.xXx.**

After dinner was finished, Jo made her way up to the library. It’s the one place that’s nearly guaranteed to be empty, and the big table is surprisingly comfy. She was stretched out on top of the table and reading the part where the handsome duke was apologizing to his ladylove for sleeping with her older sister while he was drunk when the door opened quietly. She expected to see Tony when she looked up, maybe Clint or Darcy, but she wasn’t disappointed to see that she was wrong.

“Hiya, Doc,” she said as she rolled from her stomach to a sitting position. She left her book where it was laying, finding her place won’t be that difficult, and looked across the room to the doorway. 

“Hi, Jo.” His voice was still rough from sleep, and Jo flushed as she remembered why she knew what the Doc’s I-just-woke-up voice sounded like. The memory made her think about the missing part of her large intestine, but the more recent memory of the way his stubble rubbed against the sensitive skin around her lips was closer to the forefront. 

“Sleep okay? How’s Hulk?” Something happened around his eyes, but Jo wasn’t sure what it was. It was a shift of _something_ , but fuck, he looked good just standing there. His pajama pants were so long that she could just make out his bare toes, and the fuzzy red robe wrapped around his upper body swallowed him. His hair was all sleep rumpled, and Jo just wanted to bury her fingers in his hair and drag him back to bed. She can’t do that though, because they have to figure stuff out first. Figure them out, if there’s even going to be a them. Something that she’s been trying not to think about, but now Bruce is standing in front of her and neither one of them are talking. They’re just…looking. 

Bruce isn’t perfect, she gets that, but who is? He’s not flashy and doesn’t bring attention to himself, but she can’t look away from him. And she’s tried. She’s been hooked on him ever since the first time she brought him lunch…or maybe even before that. The first time she impulsively leaned over and kissed him on the cheek? Or maybe the day that he stepped between her and a bomb? It doesn’t really matter when it started. All she knows is that she can’t seem to stay away from him. After that whole nightmare sharing thing, she should be avoiding him. There’s a small part of her that wants to hide from him and never meet his eyes again, but she still can’t _look away_. 

The guys she’s been with in the past have been confident, bordering on cocky (sometimes taking it to whole new levels), and far from shy. Now there’s Bruce, who’s insanely strong and maddeningly gentle. Jo wants Bruce because he’s broken and she doesn’t want to fix him like you’re supposed to fix broken boys. Instead she wants to hold him closer so they can be broken together, so all of their insecurities and nightmares can slip through their cracks and crash against each other. 

In other words, Bruce Banner scares the ever living fuck out of her. Jo has always known what to expect from the opposite sex, because she always chooses the same kind of guy. The guy that wants a little bit of fun and won’t feel anything when she slips out in the middle of the night. She doesn’t want a night with Bruce. She wants _everything_ with him, and it’s a completely different feeling. Jo’s dated, and fucked, and maybe even fell in love once…but she’s never felt like this. 

“What do you want from me?” The question jolted her out of the weird murmurings of her own mind, and she blinked Bruce’s form back into focus. He’s still leaning in the doorway, with his too big robe and porcupine hair. Is he wearing a shirt under the robe? Is his skin still all sleep warm from his blankets?

“Bruce, I…” She let the sentence die out and gently looked into his mind. She doesn’t know what to say, because she wants all of it. She wants lazy mornings in bed, lunch in the lab, hand holding in the park, and kisses before fights. But what if that isn’t what he wants? Her mind hit against a brick wall that felt electrified, and she flinched as she pulled herself away. Bruce’s brows were drawn down and his lips were pinched into a tight line when she looked up. One side of her wanted to smooth a hand against the grooves and make him smile, and the other side of her wanted to go crawl in a corner and hide her shame. Not that she’s ashamed. Telepaths read minds; it’s in her DNA.

“No poking around inside of my mind to tell me what you think I want to hear. What do you want from me?” She can’t answer that, not yet. Not until she knows that he won’t completely shut her down. Why’s he asking her this now anyway? They kissed, it was amazing _(fucktastic)_ , so can’t they enjoy that for just a little bit longer?

“I…want…you…to…” Jo paused and tried to think, but she’s not the best at thinking under pressure. She’s better at doing. Doing is her thing. “Dance with me. I want you to dance with me.”

“I’m not your favorite dance partner.” It wasn’t said with any kind of malice or jealousy, it was just a statement. No, it’s just a fact. 

“No, Clint is, but he isn’t here right now and I think better when I’m moving around. So come dance with me. JARVIS, one-oh-nine, please.” The AI didn’t say anything; he just started the music. 

_“One, two, three, four.”_ Jo slipped off the edge of the table with one hand outstretched, and she thought for a moment that Bruce was going to turn her down. Then he pushed off from the doorway and walked towards her. He ignored her hand, and Jo let it fall back to her side as he loosened the belt of his robe and dropped the giant thing on the table next to her book. He was shirtless under the robe. This is a very serious situation, but Jo was torn between shouting a hurrah! at the ceiling and thanking every god out there. Or just, you know, jumping on the half-naked man that scared and aroused her at equal turns. He turned to her then and offered his hand, and how could she say no? She slipped her hand into his and schooled her face into a blank expression as the song began in earnest.

_“Settle down with me. Cover me up. Cuddle me in. Lie down with me and hold me in your arms. And your heart’s against my chest, your lips pressed to my neck. I’m falling for your eyes, but they don’t know me yet.”_

“I don’t know this song,” Bruce said as the chorus started. Jo realized she was looking over his shoulder to avoid looking at him, and she lowered her gaze to his bare shoulder. He had a single freckle on the top of his shoulder, his left one but on her right, and she wanted to lick it. Maybe nibble it a bit. 

“It’s by Ed Sheeran. He’s amazing and has the voice of an angel, so just listen and enjoy.” Her fingers were lightly touching against his biceps, like the way someone lets their hand hover just over the stove eye to see if it’s still hot. His hands were a bit firmer on her hips but still loose, like she could move away from him at any moment if she wanted to. She didn’t. 

_“Settle down with me. And I’ll be your safety, you’ll be my lady. I was made, to keep your body warm. But I’m cold as the wind blows, so hold me in your arms.”_

“What are we doing, Jo?” Okay, Jo had to remind herself, he’s not Clint. Bruce isn’t going to lose himself in the music and turn off his brain for a bit. The man is constantly thinking, and now he’s thinking behind an electric brick wall so she can’t cheat. (Somewhere, in the back of her mind, the realization that she’s come to depend on the telepathy is both terrifying and nauseating.)

“We’re dancing, Bruce. Maybe not the best dance in the world, but dancing just the same.” She didn’t mean to snap, she likes Bruce enough to not snap, but she’s starting to feel a little cornered. Apparently, while she was cooking with Cap and eating dinner with everyone, Bruce was analyzing everything that’s happened between them. 

“It’s not a very difficult question. Whatever you want to say, just say it. I promise not to get angry.” There was a tense set to his jaw, but his hold on her hips was just as light ever. 

“Don’t give me that bullshit, Doc. Get angry all you want; me and Hulk are bros.” After all this time, he’s really going to use that line? She thought they moved past that the day they officially met. His dark brown eyes caught and held hers when she looked up, and Jo couldn’t look away. Not now that she was actually looking. 

“We’ve barely known each other for a month, and you didn’t even really talk to me for the first week. We still barely know each other. Then yesterday, we kissed. Would you have gone further if we hadn’t been interrupted?”

“Yes.” The answer slipped right out of her, without waiting for permission from her brain. Bruce’s eyes took turns darkening and flashing, and it made her blood feel like it was on fire and her skin itch. 

“I won’t do that. Not with you,” he said with a set line to his jaw. Jo could feel the rush of blood pounding at her temples, since her healing is a little sluggish on anything that isn’t fatal. 

“I’m not good enough for you to sleep with?” Now that the words were out, she didn’t know if she was more angry or hurt. She knows that she’s not everyone’s idea of beautiful, but Bruce hadn’t seemed to mind all the curves when they were cocooned in her bed. 

“I respect you, and our friendship, too much to have a one-night stand. I don’t have a lot of friends, and I am not losing one just because hormones got the best of us.” Jo stopped moving and stayed rooted to the spot, and Bruce let go of her as he took a quick step back. Her hands fell limply against her sides, and she tried to make sense of the whooshing sound between her ears. It was like riding a tornado under water.

“I don’t want a one-off.” Is that what he’s been thinking this whole time? That she just wants a little wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am? She could go out and find a one night stand if that’s what she really wanted; she wouldn’t risk Bruce just for one night. 

“Why? Don’t say that just because you think it’s what I want. Tell me why you want an emotionally stunted and socially awkward man who, up until a year ago, was absolutely terrified of sex because he turns into a giant green monster capable of leveling entire cities. I may have an understanding with Hulk now, but that doesn’t change anything. I’m still…I’m still…”

“Broken?” His eyes snapped to hers, and Jo made a point not to look away. “You’re broken and all torn up about past misdeeds. I get it now. Somewhere between our relaxed makeout session and now, you’ve sat down and thought up all the reasons why you shouldn’t be happy. I get that, I do, but do not take it out on me. You wanna know why I don’t want a one-off?”

“I already asked once.” It was like a staring match before the shootout on main street, and they’re both wearing bulletproof vests that’ll save them from dying but still leave dark bruises behind. 

“The simple answer is that I just want you. I want the quiet guy with his shy smiles and wild hair; the genius that talks out loud just because I asked him to; the man who faced down his own fears just to help me learn something new about something I hate. And because…because…”

“Because?” Jo flicked her eyes up to meet his and then continued on. It’s now or never. Might as well get everything out. 

“Because you scare me, Bruce. You, not Hulk. Hulk is both childlike and a helluva lot smarter than even you give him credit for sometimes, but he’s simple compared to you. You listened to me freak out over Tony’s hallucinations, and you put up with my drunk ramblings after I hid from you. You saw some of what they did to me and instead of leaving me alone, you ripped off a piece of yourself and handed it to me. People don’t just do that, Bruce. They tell people that they’re sorry that something so awful happened to them, give them a pat on the back, and then walk the fuck away. But you? You listened to the sad tale and raised me one better. And you…”

“What?” Somewhere in the middle of her speech, around the hallucination part, Jo looked down at her bare feet. Sweet fuck, she’s still wearing bright red leggings and one of Tony’s tee shirts. She looks like shit and is still trying to give some kind of grand speech. When she looked up, Bruce was staring at her like she was a ghost that could disappear at any moment. 

“The guys I’ve been with, they either knew exactly who and what I am or they knew enough of my personality to reach an opinion that’s close enough to the truth. I’m not some petite little girl; I’m a little rough around the edges. I can take whatever they can dish out and then scream for them to go a little harder. They don’t have to be careful with me, so they’re not.”

The tops of Bruce’s cheeks were dusted a light pink, and Jo wanted to press her fingers against the skin to feel the heat just underneath. Not yet though. She has to get this out, to finish it. 

“When you kissed me…it was gentle. You touched me like you could see all the cracks, and you didn’t want to break me. No one’s ever done that before. Not like you did, and I don’t give a shit if it’s selfish, but I want that. We’re gonna have to work at it if we decide to be a “we,” but I think I can do it for you. We already know the worst parts of each other, so how bad can it be?”

“You want there to be an us?” Bruce looks completely shocked, and it’s a feeling that Jo can understand. She feels shocked every time she opens her mouth and words come pouring out, but that doesn’t make her words any less true. She wants this strange doctor, with his porcupine hair and big green other half, all to herself. 

“Yeah, I want there to be an us. If you’ll have me.” She felt the corners of her lips twitching and dipped her chin down, because she can’t look at him right now. Every time he lets their eyes connect, she gets stuck staring at him like he’s the physical representation of the oxygen she needs to breathe. Rough fingertips gently tipped her face up, and she met Bruce’s eyes. He didn’t say anything, just let his eyes move back and forth as he looked at her. Like he was thinking. 

_“My heart’s against your chest, your lips pressed to my neck. I’m falling for your eyes, but they don’t know me yet.”_ JARVIS must have the song on repeat, but this was the first time Jo had registered the song in a while. And Bruce was still just looking at her. 

“I’ll stay awake for days in the lab and probably forget to talk to you,” Bruce said quietly. She could feel his warm breath tickling her lips, he was so close, but she needed him to make the first move. 

“I leave dirty clothes on the floor and get crumbs in the bed,” Jo countered.

_“So kiss me, like you wanna be loved. You wanna be loved. You wanna be loved. This feels like falling in love. Falling in love. We’re falling in love.”_

Bruce’s nose brushed against hers, and she held her breath as she waited for what came next. She didn’t have to wait long. He caught her bottom lip between his teeth, and she felt his tongue swiping across the caught flesh. She really wants to keep this going, but she has to make sure first. Hands tightened on his shoulders as Jo ignored her earlier thought of testing those very same shoulders with her teeth, and she pushed herself back just the tiniest bit. She felt his bare stomach moving as she breathed, and the shifting of the thin material between them caused her skin to break out in goosebumps. He was staring at her, she was staring at him, and why aren’t they joined at the lips again? Oh, right. 

“Just to clear things up, we’re not stopping this time, right? Because I’ve been all tense and tingly since this afternoon,” she breathed out. She can take care of it herself, sure, but she doesn’t want to. Not when there’s a much better option. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to wait?” He’s way too nice to her, and Jo can already tell that she doesn’t deserve him. She’s going to keep him anyway and work at deserving him though, hopefully without fucking it up along the way. 

“The next time I walk in here, I want my thighs to shake from the good memories.” Being all breathy doesn’t work with a voice as rough as hers, but her purr is pretty good. Good enough to darken Bruce’s eyes and have him wrap his arms around her so tight that it feels like they’ve fused together. 

This time his lips devoured hers, and she felt almost helpless against the onslaught. Her lips were hot and sensitive, she couldn’t breathe, and she couldn’t stop. Fingers tore at the loose pants barely hanging onto his hips and at the elastic waistband of her leggings, and they both stumbled out of their bottoms without their lips parting. It wasn’t easy, Jo bit Bruce’s lip hard enough to make him hiss into her mouth, but they managed it. Her fingers traced across his hips before moving onto the expanse of his back, and she felt his hands helplessly pulling at her shirt. Right, she needs to get that off. Now that she was thinking about it, she was almost desperate to feel his skin against hers. She ripped her lips away from his and hurriedly stripped the shirt off. If her arm got stuck for a moment or two, Bruce was a gentleman and didn’t mention it. 

“We should, probably, slow down.” Jo was happy to note that he was breathing just as hard as she was, and she dropped the shirt to the floor. 

“Why? You’re not worried about Hulk, are you?” She knew before that the change was triggered by his heart rate, to some extent, but he’s in control now. Well, they’re both in control.

“What? No, he’s sleeping. I told him I needed some time alone, and I promised that he could spar with Thor tomorrow. I think that we should take it slow.” They’re naked, alone together, with nothing to interrupt them. Why are they still talking?

“I think we’ve established that I’m not the average girl. I’m not saying I’m a whore or anything, but I have done this before.”

“You’ve fucked before, I know.” For some reason, Bruce saying such a naughty word sent heat running through her. That was something worth looking into later. “I don’t want that, not this time. I want it to be like our first kiss.”

“Oh.” A shiver raced down her spine, and she turned her face into Bruce’s palm when he cupped her cheek. So far he hasn’t tried to grab her breasts or spread her legs, and Jo’s starting to feel a little lost. It’s like being a virgin all over again and not knowing where to put her hands. As Bruce’s lips touched hers, softly this time, Jo just let herself fall into it. This isn’t just some guy racing her to the finish line. This is Bruce, the broken doctor with lips softened from her tongue and rough fingers gently tracing her spine.

“You don’t have to hold back with me,” he whispered with a kiss to the base of her throat. It was a mirror of that afternoon, her own words and actions used against her. Bruce was warm and solid where he was pressed against her, and Jo decided, _fuck it_. She fell apart in his arms with a moan torn out of her throat, and Bruce caught her with sweet kisses. She laughed, a quiet and breathless sound, as he laid her back against his giant fluffy robe. (She’s never going to look at the library table the same after this.) His body easily fit between her spread legs, almost where she wanted him to be, and he peppered kisses against her face and throat just to hear her laugh again. 

“I’m scared, Bruce.” One of his hands was tangled with hers while the other stroked the soft skin of her inner thigh, and his warm breath puffed out against her bellybutton.

“Me too.”

Normally when Jo let herself get lost with another person, time sped up as she tried to reach that place where her mind went completely silent. With Bruce, it wasn’t like that. Seconds stretched into hours as he kept her right on the edge, until her thighs were shaking and sweat pooled between her breasts. No one had ever paid so much attention to her body, not with such detail. Rough fingertips, blunt teeth, a teasing tongue, soothing lips…he had her ready to fly apart with nothing but light touches. Jo never knew that the inside of her right knee was ticklish until Bruce’s tongue swiped over the spot and made her giggle like a little girl. The giggles disappeared into gasps as he nipped at her thigh, and she was right back to straining for the end but being denied. 

When Bruce finally, _finally_ , slipped inside of her, Jo was so worked up that it was painful in the sweetest way. Neither one of them was going to last long. Jo was at the point of begging five minutes and six hickeys ago, and she could feel Bruce shaking lightly as she scraped her nails across his shoulders. This time when she reached her peak, Bruce let her fall off the edge. And it was a fall, with a soft landing. She came with a sob, and a scream, a curse, and a prayer. She was trying to get her breath back when Bruce went still, and her body gave a rolling shiver to arch her back against the sensation. Dark green eyes traced the tensing of Bruce’s biceps, and she locked her thighs around his waist so he couldn’t move. Bruce pulled his face away from her neck to look at her, but not before tasting the salty skin stretched over her still pounding pulse. 

“Just for a little bit, okay? I just need you to stay, just like this, for just a little bit.” Bruce smiled, a shy little twitch of his lips, and he nodded. Jo relaxed the muscles in her aching thighs and sighed when Bruce settled more fully against her with his face tucked back into her neck. His hands were curled in her hair and propped on the table so he could somewhat hold himself up, and Jo let her fingers dance to the music still playing across the tops of his shoulders. It wasn’t comfortable for either of them, they were both sore and sweaty, and a shower was needed as soon as possible. For now though, for this one moment, they were okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The bad guys are not my creation. They're a team known as the U-Foes, so feel free to google them. Basically, they're just four people who went to space to get superpowers. (Like the Fantastic Four.) If there's any questions about them or anything else, leave a comment or send a message!
> 
> PS: Who's happy that Jo and Bruce finally got together? Because I know I am!


	20. Thank You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _"I'll eat you up, I love you so!"_   
>  **Maurice Sendak, Where The Wild Things Are**   
>  **Misread, on purpose, by Camille Holbrook**   
> 

**August 22, 2014**

“Where’d you learn to do that?” Jo still had a towel wrapped around her head and was tugging on a pair of Tony’s silk boxers (striped red and gold this time), so she knows that she looks ridiculous. Bruce is only wearing a pair of loose pajama pants and his hair is sticking up from the towel rubbing she gave him just a minute ago.

“It’s not really something you learn. It’s more of an…instinct.” He really does look too adorable when he blushes; it’s gonna be the death of her. She tugged a tee shirt over her towel-wrapped head (one of Tony’s plain black shirts) and slowly walked over to Bruce. He’s just standing in the middle of her bedroom, looking a little lost with his pink cheeks and dark eyes, and she can’t stop smiling. 

“Your instincts are awesome. Best instincts ever. My thighs are still wobbly.” She pressed her smile against the side of his neck as her arms wound around his shoulders, and his arms moved to loosely wrap around her hips. He’s so warm and shirtless. After they left the library, Jo pulled Bruce into her room and they took a shower. Together. Well, first they got a little dirty and then they cleaned up. There’s a part of her that wants to stay in this moment forever, but they’ve still got a few things to clear up. First things first though, “Can you braid my hair for me? Maybe tell me where you learned how?”

“I can do that.” Her eyes crossed a little when Bruce kissed the end of her nose, and she’s two seconds away from cooing at him. Bruce took her hand and pulled her over to the bed, and she dutifully crawled to the center and crossed her legs. She listened as Bruce grabbed the brush on her bedside table, she’s got brushes stashed all over the mansion, and rocked with the bed as he moved to sit behind her. His legs spread so that they were resting on either side of her, and she lightly cupped her palms over his knees. She just wants to touch him.

“Alright, so what’s the story?” she asked once the towel was pulled off. The brush was gentle as it moved through the thick tangles of her hair, and Jo closed her eyes against the light pulling sensation. 

“I worked with a lot of sick patients in India; adults and children, men and women, young and old. Some of the women would get so sick that they wouldn’t be able to lift their arms, so one of the women helping me taught me how to braid. My first time was with a little girl, about seven. Her fever kept her sweaty, and her hair was even longer than yours. Her mother was sick as well and couldn’t help her, so I had to do it. It got easier after that first time.”

“That was very nice of you, Doc.” Jo’s voice was quiet, and she felt his fingers lightly touch against her back before going back to her hair. There’s so much of it, but he’s already started braiding it. She’d normally still be trying to brush the stuff. 

“It made things easier for her, and that’s what mattered. Has your hair always been this long?” Jo tried not to think about her time at ROSE; they shaved her head, and it took so long to grow it all back out. She spent over a year without its weight to hide behind, and her eyes tracked its growth every time she looked in the mirror for months after her rescue. 

“Ma always wanted a little girl with long flowing hair, and she got what she wanted. Not that I mind! I love my hair, even if it does get in the way sometimes. I’m just no good with it, with fixing it up. Ma used to braid it all the time, but I never got the hang of it.”

“Your hair hasn’t been braided since…”

“Since Ma died, yeah.” Her voice was a little lower from the admission, but it feels good to talk about her Ma. “I think she would’ve liked you. Ma was always sayin’ that she wanted me to find some nice boy to settle down with, and she loved curls since the both of us had straight hair.”

“I’m not sure if I’m the kind of nice boy that your mother had in mind.” Jo blindly reached back to swat at his arm and then held still again. 

“Don’t forget that Ma was a mutant. I’m technically not human, remember? Ma would’ve liked you because I do.” She’s not reading Bruce’s mind, but she’s pretty sure that he’s happy about what she said. 

“I’ll take your word for it.”

“You do that. How’s the hair comin’?”

“Almost…done.” She felt a few more tugs as Bruce wrapped a hair tie around the end of her hair, and she pulled the length of hair over her shoulder when he was finished. Her fingers lightly ran over the length, and it’s perfect. She moved onto her knees and spun around, and she saw Bruce’s eyes widen right before she jumped him. They tumbled back onto the bed with a laugh from Jo and a small grunt from Bruce, and Jo nuzzled against Bruce’s chest once they were still. 

“You know we have to talk about other stuff, right?” Her fingers are dancing across his chest and she can hear his heartbeat; he’s got one hand on the back of her neck and the other is spread out against her lower back under the tee shirt. 

“Like what?” He sounds…peaceful, not worried. 

“Like, what are your thoughts on public displays of affection? Can I hold your hand or cuddle you at the breakfast table? Are we going to tell the others now or wait a bit? We live together already, so how’s that supposed to work? How are we going to handle Tony? Because he’s going to be way too smug once he finds out about this.” She was breathing a little heavier when she was done, and that’s not even the tip of the iceberg. Everything was so much simpler when she was just ogling the Doc in his lab and having inappropriate thoughts. She wants this to work though, and she knows that relationships take work. Right?

“I’m okay with public displays of affection, within reason, so hand holding and cuddling is completely okay. Of course we can tell the others. We live together, so it’d be hard to hide and I don’t want to. Do you?”

“No, I want to cuddle you over pancakes. Didn’t I already make that clear?” She was smiling when she tilted her head back to look at him, and Bruce smiled back. It was a little smile, but it calmed her rapidly beating heart a smidge. 

“Right. Where were we?”

“Living together.”

“We do live together, but that doesn’t mean we can’t take things slow.” Jo snorted, because the library table knows that they’re not taking things slow, and Bruce lightly pinched her back before continuing. “We still have different rooms, so it’s more like living in the same apartment building. As for Tony, I don’t want to change the relationship you have with him.”

“Wait, what?” When she mentioned Tony earlier, she only meant that he was going to be insufferable because he was right. She did have a crush on Bruce and things did work out, just like he said they would. 

“I don’t think Tony has had many friends, and it’s obvious that you mean a lot to each other. I don’t want to come between that, in any way. Tony is my friend too, and I want what’s best for him. And, uh, I think you two need each other.” Jo slowly lifted herself up, so that she could really look at Bruce, and she noted the nervous look in his eyes. 

“I’m sorry, what?” She’s still a little lost. Bruce reached up a hand to scrub through his hair, and Jo watched the way that the drying curls bounced before falling into disarray.

“I’m okay with how close you and Tony are, and I don’t want any of that to change.”

“You know I sleep with him at night, right? Not like, fun sleeping, but cuddling. Well, he kinda just lays on me.” She’s babbling, because…this is something that she was worried about. She just didn’t even realize it until right now. 

“Yeah, I know,” Bruce said with a little laugh. Right, Darcy does complain about waking them up. Loudly. 

“And you’re okay with your girlfriend sleeping in another guy’s bed?” She’s kneeling next to him now and probably has the dumbest look on her face, but Bruce is still smiling. He pushed himself up onto his elbows and then sat up fully, and he reached up to lightly cup her face. 

“Tony was your friend first, and he was my friend first. I know that what you have with him is different than what we have, so there’s no reason for me to be jealous. I trust you.” He really means it too. Jo can see that he means it. Relief flooded her as tension she didn’t even know she was holding left her, and she grabbed his wrists as she melted. Yep, she has found the perfect man. And he’s all hers. 

“Does that mean you’ll come cuddle with us?” she asked with a grin. 

“Never again. You, yes. Both of you, no.” They both laughed a little at that, and Jo nuzzled against the palm resting against her left cheek. 

“So, what now?”

“I’ve missed a lot of lab time, so I was going to go work for a little bit. I’m guessing it’s about time for Tony to turn in?” Jo leaned to the side so that she could look around Bruce and see the clock on her bedside table, and it’s ten after midnight. Definitely Tony’s bedtime. 

“Sure you don’t want me to come with you?” Yeah, she’s tired, but she can stay up for a little bit with Bruce. 

“You need to rest.”

“You did wear me out,” she mused. Bruce’s cheeks flushed pink, and she laughed in triumph. She loves it when the Doc gets all shy and bashful. Her fingers curled in his hair as she leaned forward to kiss him, and it felt good to kiss him just to feel him against her. They pulled back at the same time, and Jo nuzzled their noses together. “C’mon, Doc.”

“I’ll see you at breakfast?” They’re standing in the hallway between the two labs, and Jo can hear the music pouring out of Tony’s lab from where she’s standing.

“I’ll be there.” Jo moved to turn away, but Bruce grabbed her hand to stop her and gave her a quick little kiss. She was still frozen in place a minute later, because this is all new and kind of amazing. Scratch that. Super amazing. 

_“Thank you, Thor, for this amazing day!”_ she thought as she strolled into the lab. She could see Tony’s feet and a little bit of his legs sticking out from under a car, and she hopped up onto a table.

“Where’s Darcy?” The music immediately lowered, which Jo was thankful for, and Tony made a few grumbling noises before rolling himself out from under the car.

“She went to bed…early. Oh my God!” He was still wiping the grease from his hands when he looked up at her, and now he’s just gaping up at her with wide eyes. 

“What?” Has he finally lost it?

“You had sex!” Jo’s eyes widened as her mouth popped open, and she pointed a shaking finger down at him. 

“There’s no way you can know that!” She took a shower! She’s clean, and she’s pretty sure all her hickies healed. There’s no way that he can know that!

“You’re…you’re…glowing! You had sex! You…had sex. With Bruce! I knew it!” He’s smiling now and gearing up to gloat. 

“You don’t know anything! Stop laughing, you maniac!” She threw something heavy and metal at him, and it bounced off the floor and slid to a stop next to his foot. What? It’s not like she can actually hit him. He can’t heal like she can. 

“What’re you doin’ in here, sweetheart? Shouldn’t you be cuddled up to your new sex monkey?” He barely got the words out because he was straining not to laugh, and Jo let out a war cry as she slipped off the table and tackled him. Tony yelped as they rolled across the floor, but he was back to laughing in no time. The smug asshole. 

“I’m here because I wanna go to sleep, and you need a head washin’. Seriously, Tony, it’s always caked in grease. It’s like your hair has a personal vendetta against cleanliness.” She’s sitting on his stomach and pulling at his hair, which really is caked in grease, and Tony cocked his head as he looked up at her. 

“You’re sleeping with me tonight?” He looks confused, and she can sympathize. She was lost for a little while too, but everything is going to be okay because Bruce is obviously the best boyfriend ever. And they’ve only been dating for about two hours. 

“Bruce is gonna be in the lab for a while, and I’m sleepy now.” She saw the moment that Tony understood what she meant, because she felt him relax and his eyes softened. It looks like he was a little worried about how her relationship with Bruce was going to change things too. 

“Why does Bruce get to stay in the lab after midnight?” Tony pouted. Actually pouted. 

“Because Bruce took two naps today. Now, get up. We’ll hose you down and then get some sleep.” She flowed to her feet and reached a hand down, and it was easy to yank Tony onto his feet. 

“He’s really okay with this?” Tony whispered. There’s no one else around to hear them, but she kinda gets it. 

“Yeah, he really is. He knows how much we care about each other, and he knows that he has nothing to worry about. Now, move! I wanna go to bed.” Tony slung an arm around her shoulders and started walking, and she easily fell into step beside him. It’s almost like nothing has changed, but everything has. 

“My hair isn’t that greasy.” Yeah, just the same old same old.

**August 23, 2014**

“Tony, are you still—oh. Good morning, Jo.” Dark green eyes slowly blinked open, and Jo took in her surroundings. Tony’s bed. Tony’s hair between her fingers. Tony’s face pressed against her stomach. Pepper Potts standing at the foot of the bed. Pepper!

“Oh! Hi! This is not what it looks like, at all. We were just sleeping! And I’m dating Bruce now! Also, sleeping-sleeping with Tony? That’s just gross,” Jo said quickly. Tony groaned and pawed at her face, and she quickly knocked his hand away without looking away from Pepper’s smiling face. Why is Pepper smiling?

“He told me about how close you two are and congratulations. Doctor Banner is a wonderful man.” Pepper’s smile was warm, and Jo knew without using any telepathy that the woman was being sincere. 

“Yeah, he really is. So, I’m just gonna go and let you two talk. Tony, invite Pepper to breakfast.” Tony groaned as she rolled him over onto his back and slipped out of the bed, and she gave Pepper a little wave before quickly moving out of the room. She didn’t run, but it was a close thing. The door to her room closed with a quiet click as she leaned back against it, and her eyes closed as she took a few slow deep breaths. She just saw Pepper Potts. While she was in the bed with Tony Stark. 

“Jo?” The low voice made her eyes snap open, and she looked across the room. Bruce was standing in front of her fireplace, dressed in a pair of black slacks and blue button-up that was missing one of the middle buttons, and Jo took a moment to just drink him in. 

“Hey. Hi. What are you doing here?” She can still see the warmth in Pepper’s smile, and she’s so confused about everything. Is Tony okay? Seeing Pepper can’t be easy, and…Bruce hasn’t brushed his hair. Her fingers twitched against her thighs, because she wanted to go run her fingers through his curly hair and then pull him into bed. 

“I thought we could go down to breakfast together?” He’s not blushing but it’s a close thing, and he’s wringing his hands together. Like she’d tell him no?

“Breakfast, right, yes. Just, uh, let me go freshen up?” He nodded, which made his wild curls bounce, and Jo bolted into the bathroom. Everything with Bruce is new and exciting, and she can’t remember ever feeling this way. She likes it. It only took a few minutes for her to go through her morning ritual, mostly because the braid that Bruce worked her hair into was still in place. When she walked back out into her room, Bruce was looking at the mantle over her fireplace. 

“Is this from the fair?” Bruce asked once she was standing next to him. He was looking at the picture of her and Tony; she was laughing because Tony was choking on the last piece of funnel cake she’d shoved into his mouth. 

“Yeah, and Tony won the unicorn in a dart game,” Jo said as her shoulder brushed against Bruce’s. Their knuckles bumped before Bruce shifted his arm to grab her hand, and Jo dropped her head onto his shoulder as their fingers laced together. 

“And this one?” There’s still only one other thing on the mantle; it’s the picture that JARVIS took for her. 

“It’s from Tony’s One Month Sober party.” Tony was still grumpy a lot of the time back then, but he’d caved eventually and let her celebrate. He even ate one of her lopsided cupcakes. Bruce hummed and gave her hand a little squeeze, and she took it as the thank-you that it was. He knows that Tony was slipping over the edge, and he’s grateful that she was able to pull him back. Like she’d let anything happen to her idiotic boss?

“Ready for breakfast?”

“I’m always ready for Thor’s pancakes,” was her answer. Seriously, the god was…well, a god when it came to breakfast foods. She relaxed against Bruce once they were in the elevator and brushed her smile against his bicep. Today is going to be a good day.

**.xXx.**

“You guys seriously eat way too much,” Darcy groaned as she carried yet another plate of pancakes into the dining room. Steve and Maria were already sitting at the table and talking quietly, and Natasha gracefully moved around Darcy and Thor to get to her seat.

“It’s because of the super metabolisms.” Okay, that’s Clint’s voice, but there’s no Clint. Has she finally lost it? Darcy set the plate of pancakes down on the table and turned around to go back to the kitchen to get the bowl of scrambled eggs. She took two steps and then Clint appeared in front of her. She screamed, fell backwards, and would’ve knocked over the table if Clint hadn’t caught her. 

“What did…How did…Quit laughing!” she yelled and flapped her hands across his shoulders and head. She’s pretty sure she’s hitting him, but he’s still laughing so she’s guessing it’s not having much of an impact. “Where did you come from?!”

Clint pointed up at the ceiling, while still keeping one arm wrapped tight around her waist, and Darcy rolled her eyes. She remembers Clint saying something about mapping out the venting system, but she didn’t think he was serious! What kind of weirdo crawls around in the vents? Also, wow, his eyes are really pretty up close. A little bit of blue, a little bit of green, some golden streaks around his pupils. He’s also really strong. She’s no lightweight, and he’s pretty much still holding her entire weight off the floor with just one arm. 

“Did I miss dance time?” Darcy managed to turn her head enough to see Jo standing in the doorway, and she’s holding onto Bruce’s hand. Jo’s touchy-feely though, so it’s not that surprising. 

“What?” Jo’s eyebrows pulled together, and she used her free hand to gesture between Darcy and Clint. 

“That’s a dip, right?”

“Clint dropped out of a vent and scared her. He caught her to keep her from knocking the food off the table,” Natasha explained calmly. 

“You gotta stop doing that, Clinton. You’re gonna give someone a heart attack one of these days,” Jo said as she walked by. She ruffled Clint’s hair just as the archer finally pulled Darcy back into a vertical position, and she grabbed onto the archer’s shoulders as her blood started flowing normally again. 

“What’d the birdbrain do this time?” Tony asked as he walked in. There was a tall and stunning redhead behind him, and that must be Pepper Potts. Wow, she is flawless. 

“Scared Darcy,” Jo answered. Darcy should move and maybe use her words, but she can’t stop holding onto Clint’s very strong shoulders. 

“Hey, no messing with my little girl,” Tony said with a stern glare. Darcy groaned and dropped her forehead against Clint’s chest, because this is her life and it makes no sense. 

“I promise to be a gentleman.” And with that, Clint spun her around and pulled her chair out just in time for her to land in it. It was very smooth and more than a little hot. 

“Oh, Pepper, you should sit with us!” Jo suddenly yelled out. Jo moved from her chair to Bruce’s lap, and Darcy felt her jaw drop just a little as Bruce’s cheeks flushed pink. That left Jo’s normal chair empty, which is where Tony sat so that Pepper could have his seat. 

“Got something you wanna announce, Josie?” Clint asked. He was sitting in his usual place across from Darcy now, and she can still feel the heat of him pressed up against her. 

“Right. Bruce and I are totally a thing now,” Jo stated and leaned back against him. 

“Aren’t they just adorable?” Tony teased. Okay, so Jo and Bruce are together. Darcy knew that Jo was crushing on the doctor, and she had suspicions about Bruce feeling the same way. 

“Ha! Good luck, Bruce!” Jo leaned forward to swat at Clint, but he easily moved out of the way and kept laughing as Jo yelled at him. 

“Friends! We should be feasting!” Thor’s booming voice brought all noise to a halt, and Darcy twisted around in her chair to look at the god. He was carrying four bowls, easily, and looking around at all of them. 

“Thor! Did you know Jo and Bruce were dating?” Clint yelled out. He yelped a second later, which means that Jo probably kicked him. 

“Mhmm,” Thor said and nodded his head as he put the bowls on the table. “Jo prays to me often, and your union brings me great joy.”

“That’s why you’re my favorite god,” Jo said in the same serious voice that Thor had used. This morning just keeps getting weirder. 

“Indeed. Now, feast!” You didn’t have to tell her twice. Darcy immediately started filling her plate, but she never eats as much as the others. Thor and Bruce eat the most, but Steve and Jo aren’t too far behind. The rest of breakfast was mostly quiet, because everyone was busy stuffing their faces, and Darcy kept sneaking glances over at Jo. The mutant looked perfectly content in Bruce’s lap, and she had her feet tucked under Tony’s thigh. Good. Darcy’s pretty sure that the world would explode if Jo and Tony separated. 

“I have an order from Director Fury.” The whole room seemed to tense at Maria’s words, but the agent looked just as chill as always. 

“We beating someone up?” Jo asked around her pancakes. 

“Agents Barton and Romanoff need to be assessed before they are cleared for field work, and he would like for Captain Rogers and Eris to assist,” Maria explained. 

“I call Clint!” Jo rushed out. Clint high-fived her, and Steve looked across the table at Natasha. The assassin nodded, just once, and a decision was made. 

“Do you need me in the lab?” She’s looking at Tony, who’s looking at Pepper, so she kicked him under the table.

“Ow! What?!” He’s pouting, which means it didn’t really hurt. Maybe she should kick him a little harder next time. 

“Do you need me in the lab?”

“Why?” Pepper’s looking back and forth between them, and she looks like a nice enough person. 

“I wanna watch Jo and Steve take on Clint and Natasha.” It’s something that she needs to see. 

“Fair enough. I guess I can survive without your assistance for a few hours,” Tony huffed. Such a drama queen. 

“Let’s get this party started!” Jo swooped down to give Bruce a quick kiss and then she was sprinting out of the room with Clint hot on her heels. Steve helped Maria to her feet, and the agent held onto his arm as they slowly left the room. Looks like Maria is out of her wheelchair. Darcy slowly pushed her chair back and got to her feet, and she looked down at Thor. 

“I will attend to the cleaning and then join you,” the god said with a wide smile. She watched him gather up all the dishes in one go before cheerily leaving the room, he was whistling, and she shook her head with a smile. 

“Pepper.”

“Natasha.” When Darcy looked over, the two redheads were staring each other down. It looked like they were having some sort of conversation, but neither one of them is telepathic as far as Darcy knows. Well, Natasha might be. 

“Darcy. Let’s go.” Darcy snapped to attention and fell into step beside Natasha, but she didn’t say anything until they were in the elevator. 

“So, what was with the glaring back there?” That’s not the most casual way of asking things, but there’s no point in trying to be subtle with Natasha. Natasha always knows. 

“Pepper and I are old friends. That’s just how we say hello,” was Natasha’s cryptic answer. Eh, she’ll just ask Jo later. The mutant can’t say no to Darcy’s puppy eyes. 

“Go, team!” When they walked into the gym, Jo and Steve were standing side-by-side and holding onto Clint’s feet so that they could lift him into the air. Steve and Jo flexed at the same time, and Clint did a few backflips in midair before landing perfectly on his feet. 

“Playtime is over, kids. It’s time to get to work.” Jo and Clint groaned at Natasha’s no-nonsense voice, and Steve ducked his head to hide his smile. Darcy moseyed over to where Maria was sitting and took the chair next to her, and she settled in to watch the show.

**.xXx.**

“Okay, I’m going to take Tony’s lunch up to him before he passes out,” Darcy said with a small roll of her eyes. Jo can sympathize because she’s been feeding the genius for a few months now, and it still amazes her that someone so smart can forget about something so simple as eating.

“I’ll be up later, kiddo. I wanna go check on Bruce first.” She’s got that warm feeling in the bottom of her stomach again, and she can’t seem to stop smiling. 

“Hey, since you’re with Bruce, does that mean I get to two Christmases?” Darcy was paused in the kitchen doorway and smiling, and Jo chugged down a little more water. 

“We still live together, so, no.” 

“Ugh, you guys are so unfair,” Darcy whined out as she left. Jo can still feel the happy brainwaves coming off of Darcy though, so she knows the kid is happy for her and Bruce. Jo drank down the rest of her water, because Clint really did a good job of kicking her ass. Both of the agents are cleared now, and that’s all that really matters. There haven’t been any more side effects, and Jo’s hoping it stays that way. 

“JARVIS, is Bruce in his lab?” She’s pretty sure that’s where he was headed after breakfast. 

“Hulk is currently in sub-basement two.” 

“Is he okay?”

“He is quite alright, Miss Jo. I would have alerted you if anything was amiss.” JARVIS sounded almost offended, and Jo rolled her eyes. JARVIS was nowhere nearly Tony’s level of divadom, but it’s pretty easy to tell who his creator is. 

“I know you would have, buddy, but it never hurts to ask. I guess I’m going downstairs then.” She tapped her foot as she rode the elevator down, because she’s just a tiny bit anxious. Hulk shouldn’t be as angry as the day before, so maybe she’ll get a chance to see him do his thing. She’s normally with Tony when Hulk spars with Thor, and she has to concentrate on her own opponents when they go out to fight. 

When she stepped off the elevator, the corridor was empty. She could hear Hulk’s growling voice farther down, so she quietly made her way towards his voice. She could’ve made noise and announced herself, since Hulk likes her just fine, but she’s curious. There weren’t any sounds of fighting or smashing, just the sound of Hulk’s rumbling voice. Jo stopped where the corridor opened into a cavernous room and, since Hulk’s back was to her, took a good look around. The room had giant rocks and metal beams, along with some giant metal balls and boxes, but Hulk wasn’t messing with any of that. Instead he was sitting on the ground, with his back to the corridor where Jo was standing so she couldn’t get a good look at what he was doing. So she listened. 

“Th-ey…ro-ar-ed…th-eir…terrrrible…ro-ars…an, and…g-g-nashed…th-eir…terrrrrible…teeeeeth.” Even as choppy as Hulk’s speech was, Jo could recognize the line. If she closed her eyes, she’d be able to hear her Ma whispering into her ear, _“And when he came to the place where the wild things are, they roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth.”_

“Hulk?” She watched the way the giant muscles bunched under his green skin, and she smiled when green eyes peeked over his shoulder. He looked like a kid who’d just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and Jo had to blink rapidly to get rid of her stupid tears. 

“Jo sneak up on Hu-…me.” Jo blinked at that and gently looked into Hulk’s mind. 

_“I was teaching him how to speak properly before we came here, but sometimes he forgets when there’s a lot going on. We’re working on it again. He’s getting better,”_ Bruce said quietly. It was so weird hearing Bruce without seeing him, but Jo understood what he was saying. Lately whenever Hulk made an appearance, it was in a high-stress situation. Except for when he was sparring with Thor, but he was usually too busy fighting then to have a chat. 

**_“Not stupid, Banner.”_ **

_“I know you’re not stupid. Jo knows it too.”_ Hulk was still looking at her, and Jo watched the way his eyes flashed from brown to green as the two talked. 

“I’ve known it all along. So, Hulk, will you read to me? _Where The Wild Things Are_ is my favorite book.” Hulk huffed and turned back around, which Jo took as an invitation. She walked around the big guy and after a moment of thinking decided to just go for it. Bruce was Hulk and Hulk was Bruce; she was safe with both of them. She crawled up and sat on top of one thigh, and Hulk’s giant hand rested against her side so he could hold her against him. Jo pulled her legs up and pressed her cheek against his stomach, and the position was insanely comfortable. Jo was a tank, so she didn’t need anyone else to make her feel safe. Sitting in Hulk’s lap and being surrounded by the big green guy was the safest she’d felt in a long time. 

“Hu—I start at the beginning?” The book was in the air in front of Hulk’s face, courtesy of JARVIS. 

“That’s the best way to start a story.” She smiled up at him, and Hulk huffed as the first page showed. 

“The…night…Max…wo-re…his…w-wol-f…s-uu-t.” Jo closed her eyes and let Hulk’s measured breathing rock her, and she let Hulk read at his own pace. When he finished and wanted to read it again, but didn’t want to say that he wanted to read it again, Jo asked for him to tell the story one more time. Then another time. And come on, big guy, one last story time? Jo wasn’t sure how long they sat in the basement with Hulk reading, but he got it to the point where he knew every word. There were no more pauses or mix-ups; he could read it perfectly, complete with sound effects. 

“Where he found his supper waiting for him, and it was still hot,” Hulk finished. Jo twisted around to look up at the big guy and grinned as big as she could. Hulk looked so proud of himself, Jo could feel it reverberating inside of his mind and mixing with Bruce’s own pride, and she felt herself tearing up again. This whole crying thing really needed to stop. 

“Good job, big guy!” She wanted to say more, about how ridiculously awesome Hulk was, but she was still worried about the waterworks. 

“I did good job?” She could see, from _Hulk’s_ memories, a small little Bruce reading alone. Sometimes his mother would kiss his cheek and tell him that he was a good little boy, but Bruce always had to hide. He started reading at such a young age, and it just made his father that much more suspicious. And abusive. Yeah, okay, that was definitely a tear tickling her cheek. Before any more could squeeze out, Jo got to her feet and was able to climb up Hulk’s body. He gave her a boost so that she was sitting on his shoulder, and she dropped her forehead to his temple for just a moment. 

“You did an amazing job, Hulk. I knew you could do it, and I’m so proud of you.” She placed a gentle kiss on Hulk’s cheek and then nuzzled against the spot. The big guy was starved for affection, she could feel that now. The only touch he knew came from bullets and bombs, and it wasn’t fair. Hulk deserved kindness, and Jo was going to make sure he got it. 

“Jo likes me.” She laughed at the sound of his smug tone, and she felt Bruce shifting inside of his mind. She knew he was aware of everything, but he was letting Hulk stay in control. 

“Of course I do. Don’t tell Bruce, but you’re my favorite.” Hulk huffed, but Jo could tell he was happy. “Now, how about reading me another story?”

“If you want,” Hulk huffed out. 

“I do,” Jo said quickly. Hulk reached up to lay a hand over her thighs, keeping her steady, as JARVIS pulled up another book. Jo settled herself more comfortably on Hulk’s shoulder and waited for storytime to begin.

**.xXx.**

“Rise and shine!” Jo startled awake and nearly head-butted Tony as she jumped up, and she glared over at the smirking billionaire.

“How’d I get here?” She’s definitely in Tony’s lab, but the last thing she remembers is…Hulk! She was having storytime with Hulk. 

“Bruce dropped you off about two hours ago. Said he was working on something noisy and didn’t want to disturb your precious slumber,” Tony said with the worst British accent she’s ever heard. 

“He did not say that!” She tossed one of the little pillows on the couch at Tony’s head, but he easily caught it and threw it back to her. 

“He said something close to it. It was so adorable I nearly swooned!” Tony put a hand to his forehead and made to fall backwards, and Jo took the opportunity to throw the pillow as hard as she could at his chest. The force caused him and the chair to topple backwards, and Jo was still snorting laughter when Tony crawled onto the couch and tried to smother her with the same pillow. 

“Okay, okay, you win!” Tony sat back on her thighs and tossed the pillow onto the other end of the couch, and Jo relaxed back against the cushions. 

“So, what’d you wake me up for?” Jo drawled out. 

“Steve’s waiting on you to cook dinner.” Jo felt her eyes widen and then she was pushing Tony off of her. He toppled back onto the couch with a quiet _oof_ , so Jo smacked a kiss against his forehead before sprinting from the room. She broke into a run as soon as the elevator doors opened and slid into the kitchen. 

“I was starting to think you weren’t going to show,” Steve said with a smile. They’re making homemade pizzas, and Steve’s already kneading the dough. 

“Like I’d miss out on quality Cap time. Nuh-uh, no way,” Jo said as she made her way over to him. Steve gave her a task, and she started going through the motions of making dough. He’s a good leader, even when it comes to something as simple as making a pizza. Or several pizzas. 

“So, Bruce.” Jo could hear the hint of a question, but she doesn’t look into most people’s minds without permission. 

“Yep,” she nodded. 

“I think you’re good for him. He relaxes more around you,” Steve said quietly. He’s right. Bruce is pretty relaxed around her and Tony, but sometimes he still gets a little tense around the others. Like he’s waiting for them to be afraid of him. To decide they don’t want him around. Which is ridiculous, because Bruce is super chill and Hulk is awesome. 

“I think it’s because I’ve never been scared of Hulk, you know? And we’ve been spending a lot of time together,” Jo shrugged. They don’t normally talk about Jo’s personal life during these moments; not because Steve doesn’t care, but he understands that some things are private. He knows that if she wants to talk about something, she will. 

“I’m happy for both of you.” Steve’s smile was blinding, and Jo wondered if he was thinking of Peggy. From the stories she’s heard, the woman was amazing. She’s pretty sure that if Steve had never been frozen, he would’ve married her and fought next to her side until they both needed hip replacements. Life never seems to work out right though. Steve deserves happiness. 

“Thanks.” She’s not blushing. It’s just really hot in the kitchen because of the oven. 

“But if he breaks your heart, I have to break something of his.” Jo’s laugh was startled out of her, because Steve is still smiling at her. 

“Gonna have to play the part of big brother, huh?” Steve ruffled her hair a little and put an arm around her shoulders, and Jo relaxed against the super soldier. Steve normally isn’t big on hugging or cuddling, so she’s going to enjoy this while she can. 

“I always wanted a little sister,” Steve mused. 

“Really? I always thought having a big brother would be cool.” She looked up at him so that he could see her smile and then his face turned serious. 

“Have you told Logan yet?” She groaned as she turned to bury her head against Steve’s side, which meant that her forehead was kinda in his armpit, but she didn’t care because she’s going to have to tell Logan that she’s dating Hulk. That is not going to be a fun conversation. Logan’s kinda like her father figure, and he’s convinced that no one is good enough for her. 

“Ugh, that conversation is going to suck so hardcore!” she whispered. She could feel Steve laughing, so she pushed back and lightly punched his shoulder. “Go ahead! Laugh at my pain!”

“Go tell Bruce that dinner is ready.” She was about to protest, because JARVIS alerts everyone when it’s dinner time, but then she understood what Steve was doing. He’s giving her a little extra time to spend with Bruce, because he’s awesome like that. 

“Aye, aye, Captain!” She snapped off a salute before exiting the kitchen, and she hummed quietly under her breath as she danced in the elevator up to Bruce’s lab. The doctor didn’t move at all when she walked inside, so Jo assumed he was hyper focused and didn’t even notice her presence. His back was to her too, so all she could see was the loose sweatpants he was wearing and a white lab coat. His head was bent over a microscope, and his shoulders looked tense as he worked. Jo had an urge to go work the knots out…and then she realized, she _could_. She was allowed to touch and soothe, because they’re together now, right?

Without saying anything, she walked across the lab and settled her hands on Bruce’s shoulders. He tensed up for just a moment before relaxing, and Jo smiled when he didn’t even look away from his microscope. She could feel his mind and was completely confused by all the thoughts racing through it, so she just focused on what she was good at. Which right now meant massaging the tense knots out of his shoulders and back. After a few minutes, Bruce sat up and leaned back. The back of his head pressed against her sternum, and Jo swooped down to press a kiss against his forehead. Right under his curls. 

“Dinner is ready.” Bruce spun around on his stool and just looked up at her, and Jo shuffled a bit under the scrutiny. “It’s just pizza, so it’s nothing special. Well, it’s pizza cooked by Captain America, so maybe it’s a tiny bit special. The man knows his sauces.”

“You…you stayed with him,” Bruce said quietly. He was looking at her from under his hair; it was a move that Jo knew well. Whenever she felt shy, or scared, or vulnerable, she hid under the weight of her hair. It was one of the reasons why having it shaved off had been so horrible. 

“Hulk? He’s a great storyteller,” she said with a gentle smile. Bruce’s mind was moving too fast for her to really focus, so she couldn’t tell if Hulk was listening or not. 

“He’s sleeping right now,” Bruce said, as if he was the one that could hear thoughts. Or maybe she crossed over without realizing it? She’s really got work on this telepathy thing.

“He sleeps a lot. Is that normal?” It seemed like if Hulk wasn’t physically out, for the most part, he was sleeping. 

“He’s never really had a chance to sleep. Before, when he was locked in the dark, I don’t think he could sleep.” Bruce wouldn’t meet her eyes, but Jo thought she understood. Hulk was always awake and hidden away, just waiting for a chance to come out. To come out of the dark. At least, that’s what she was picking up. 

“Don’t sweat it, Doc. You’re makin’ up for all that now. I mean, you’re teachin’ him how to _read_. He’s pickin’ up pretty fast too.”

“I was thinking of moving to chapter books next week. I just, you stayed with him. You encouraged him. I wanted to say thank you.” Bruce looked so sweet and shy, like he was still worried about rejection, and how could Jo resist that? She grabbed fistfuls of his hair and molded her lips to his, and she sighed once she felt strong hands gripping her hips. She pulled back but stayed close, so that their noses brushed and she could still feel his breath on her lips. 

“Don’t ever thank me for doing what any decent person would do. I know some people out there might not realize it, but Hulk’s just another guy. A big green guy, sure, but he’s no different than the rest of us.”

“But—”

“He thinks, he feels, and he understands. That makes him no different than the rest of us. If he wants someone to read to, I’ll be there. No matter what.” Bruce cleared his throat as his hands flexed against her hips, and Jo’s lips quirked at the sound. 

“Dinner?”

“Right after you lose the lab coat,” she said as she stepped back. Bruce’s hands just hovered in the air over the empty space where her body was before he reached up to pull at his lab coat. “Fuck, Doc, are you tryin’ to kill me?”

“What?” The white lab coat was resting on his now empty stool, and Jo shook her head at the confused looking doctor. One day the man would realize just what kind of effect he had on her.

“Do you always go shirtless under the lab coat? Or is this a special occasion?” He looked down at his bare torso and let his hand rest against his naked stomach. Jo had to remind herself that there was a perfectly good meal waiting downstairs, and she wasn’t sure how the Doc would feel about dirtying up his lab. 

“Oh, I just came up after Hulk went to sleep and I must have forgotten to grab a shirt.” His hand ruffled up his hair, giving him that porcupine look that should not be arousing, and Jo groaned as she turned around to head back to the elevator. 

“You should forget more often but right now it’s dinnertime. So we’re gonna grab you a shirt for now and maybe later we can have dessert,” Jo said as she stepped into the elevator. Bruce followed in after her, with a confused look and his stupid hair. 

“Oh? What’d you make for dessert?” Jo listened as the elevator doors closed with a quiet _whoosh_ and then pulled Bruce’s lips to hers. She didn’t let him go even after hearing the doors open, and she only stopped after JARVIS said he wasn’t going to keep the door open for them any longer. 

“Hurry it up, Doc, I’m _starving_.”

**.xXx.**

“Okay, so, let me make sure I’ve got this right. Tony has always been in love with Pepper, but they didn’t start dating until after he became Iron Man. As a result, Tony only focused on how awesome Pepper was and buried all the horrible things that happened to him. And that kept happening to him. Pepper knew what he was doing but didn’t know how to help, until you showed up. She trusted you to keep him safe, so she dumped him in order to make him face up to all the bad stuff that happened. And now that he’s doing better she’s back.”

“That about sums it up, yeah,” Jo said with a slow nod. Darcy hummed and looked off into the distance, so Jo left her to her thoughts. They’re lying around on Darcy’s bed because Darcy asked Jo up after dinner, and Jo can’t really say no to Darcy’s puppy eyes. Then again, if she hadn’t followed after Darcy, she probably would have jumped Bruce in his lab. 

“She just wanted to help him, right? Because if she’s here to hurt Tony, we’ll have to kill her.” Darcy sounded so serious that Jo couldn’t help her quick bark of laughter, and she reached over to lightly pat the top of Darcy’s head to stop the kid from pouting. 

“We can’t kill her, because that would make Tony sad. Besides, she still loves the idiot so we don’t have anything to worry about.” Pepper showed up at dinner and talked a little more to everyone, but Jo didn’t miss the way that the redhead and her boss looked at each other. She just really hopes that Tony doesn’t get his heart broken. 

“Fine. But I’m keeping an eye on her.” Jo hooked an arm around Darcy’s neck and pulled her closer, and she held in her laugh when Darcy started struggling to get away. 

“You’re such a good kid. Best lovechild ever,” Jo said and loosened her hold. Darcy slumped against her and took in a few slow breaths. 

“Darcy! I have acquired the mallows of the marsh!” Jo twisted around to see a beaming Thor standing in the doorway, and he’s holding the biggest bag of marshmallows that Jo has ever seen. A familiar bag of marshmallows. 

“Did Maria help you out?” Jo asked as she stood up. Darcy is still lying spread out across her bed, but she is laser focused on the bag of marshmallows. 

“Lady Maria was a great help, yes,” Thor said with another wide smile. 

“We’re making s’mores tonight!” Darcy yelled and suddenly darted past Jo. Thor scooped her up as soon as she was in grabbing range and tossed her onto his shoulder, and Darcy cheered as they left the room. “To Clint and the chocolate!”

“Kids these days,” Jo muttered and slowly made her way out of the room. Steve and Maria were waiting for the elevator, and Thor and Darcy were nowhere in sight. 

“Feeling old, Jo?” Maria teased as she stopped next to the pair. The agent was holding onto Steve’s arm to help stay upright, and Jo raised an eyebrow. 

“You know we’re the same age, right?” 

“I’m older than you,” Maria reminded her. Older by about six months. 

“I’m older than both of you,” Steve said just as the doors opened. 

“Yeah, you look it too.” Steve and Maria both looked over at her, but she kept her eyes trained forward and commanded her face not to smile. She heard Maria snort out a laugh a second later and then Steve huffed at her. “Have fun making s’mores! And try not to burn the house down!” 

“You mean like you burned down that one dignitary’s summer home?!” was Maria’s parting reply. Jo could follow them into the backyard and explain about how that was most definitely not her fault, but Maria’s never believed her. Plus, she’s really thirsty. She chugged down a bottle of water in the empty kitchen and then decided to go check on Tony. She’s missed him today. 

“Jo.” The mutant paused out in the foyer and met a pair of clear blue eyes.

“Pepper.” The woman looks just as flawless as always and has one of those little smiles that always seems to hover around her lips, and Jo shifted her weight onto her right foot. 

“I never thanked you, for helping him.” It was right on the tip of Jo’s tongue to just say that it was her job and smile like she always did, but she held back. She might never get another chance to say this. 

“He didn’t just break after you left. He _shattered_. The only way to help him was to grind him into dust and rebuild him from scratch. I had to listen to his screams, night after night. I’ve seen you fall into the fire so many times that sometimes I feel responsible for what happened. I hold him at night because he’s still covered in cracks, and it’s only going to take one strong wind to break him down all over again. I need to know that you’re not bringing a storm with you.”

“Will you read my mind? I don’t know how to say what I felt before I left, or how I’ve felt since leaving. Will you?” Jo took a few steps forward, until she was close enough to reach out and touch the other woman, and looked straight into her eyes. It took a moment, but images slowly started filtering in. 

_A younger Tony, minus the iconic facial hair, is looking her dead in the eye. She made sure to dress in her most unflattering business suit, because she wants this job to be based on her skills. After what feels like an eternity, Stark clicks his tongue and spins away on a heel._

_“Try to keep up!”_

The scene fades out and is replaced with a series of flickering images. Tony arguing with people older than him and winning. Tony laughing with food still in his mouth. Tony ordering flowers on the anniversary of his parents’ death; Pepper had to deliver them. A series of women that never last more than a few hours. Tony’s cocky smile fading when he’s alone. 

_Tony’s standing in front of her, and she knew it. She knew he couldn’t really be dead, like they all told her. She’d be able to feel it, because the world would change without Tony Stark in it. He’s here, standing close enough that she could touch him, but he’s different. There’s something in his dark eyes that she doesn’t like. The light in them has dimmed, like a part of him has been chipped away._

That was right after Tony returned from Afghanistan. That’s when he began to change; that’s when everything started to change. 

_She nearly got blown up, but now she’s standing on top of a rooftop and parts of the city are on fire. She’s completely freaking out, she can’t handle all of this anymore, and Tony’s talking about how he did okay while things are still exploding. Now he’s being reasonable and rational, which always seems to calm her down, and her mind is still spinning. Then he’s right there and he’s finally kissing her, and it’s better than she ever imagined. When she looks at him again, she can see the light in his eyes. It’s almost like looking at the old Tony Stark, but he looks a little softer around the edges. How long has she been in love with him? Was there ever a time when she didn’t love him?_

Then Manhattan happened. She lost him after that, even if they did share a bed every night. He was lost in memories and fear, and she couldn’t reach him. When he looked at her, he was fine. The moment his eyes closed, he was gone again. Instead of trying to deal with it, he lost himself in work and in her eyes. That’s when the cracks started widening, and Killian picked the perfect time to strike. 

_At night, she can still feel the fire. The fire stroking across her skin is nothing compared to the flames racing through her veins. Even after the Extremis is removed, she can still feel the way her body strained to hold in the power she was never meant to possess. She knows that Tony can’t look at her without feeling like he failed her, despite the fact that he’s the one that removed the Extremis. He still looks at her like she can save him, but she can’t. She keeps trying, but she doesn’t know how to save him from himself. She’s spent so many years taking care of him, but she doesn’t know how to take care of him now. He’s falling apart, and she’s helpless._

Jo showed up right in the nick of time. Pepper couldn’t leave Tony alone, but who could she trust to take care of him? To help him? Pepper didn’t know Jo, but she knew the mutant would keep him alive. And she was right. She’s not sure how bad it got, but she knows that Jo was able to finally help him. To pull him out of the fire and the darkness. 

_She cries at night. Every night. She devoted her life to Tony Stark and turning away from him is the hardest thing she’s ever done. In the light of day, she knows that she made the right decision. She’s not going to be the one that saves him. At night, when all the lights are out and her room is quiet, she doubts herself. Doubts her decision to leave. She wants to be at his side. She misses her lover. She misses her friend. Tony’s the only person she’s ever been able to call hers, and he’s the only person she’s ever allowed to have a piece of her. She cries from the loneliness. She cries because she’s ashamed of her own selfishness, that she considers ruining his progress just so she can stand next to him again._

_As soon as the sun rises, her tears dry up and she smiles. She is not going to be the one that saves Tony Stark, but she is the one that made it possible for him to be saved._

Jo stutters out a breath, because it’s almost too much. She’s never been a fan of feeling someone else’s emotions. The depth of Pepper’s emotions can drown her if she’s not careful. 

_Tony agrees to meet her for lunch, and Pepper can feel her heart beating in her throat. She’s afraid that it’s too soon, but she misses him. Surely they can still be friends? When he arrives, Pepper can see the light in his eyes before he catches sight of her. He might not be completely out of the dark, but he’s making progress. He smiles when he sees her, so wide that his eyes crinkle, and Pepper instantly relaxes. Tony has always made her feel comfortable, safe, needed, loved. He orders water instead of scotch, and she’s not sure if she’s ever seen his eyes so clear._

_“It’s so good to see you, Tony.” She means every word, and she doesn’t cry that night. She made the right decision, and it doesn’t hurt as much anymore. She still misses him, still loves him, but she made the right decision._

“Do you understand now?” Jo blinked and rubbed the tears out of her eyes, and she slowly nodded. Pepper Potts just might be the toughest person she knows. Jo’s not sure she’d be able to function if she felt the way Pepper has felt since leaving Tony, but the other woman has carried on as normal. 

“Yeah, I understand.” All Pepper has ever wanted is for Tony to be safe, to be happy, to be loved. 

“Thank you.” This time when Pepper said it, Jo knew what she was really saying. _Thank you for saving him when I couldn’t_. Pepper lightly touched her shoulder as she walked past, and Jo turned to watch her walk away. 

“He still loves you too, you know. He doesn’t remember when he started loving you, because it feels like he’s always loved you.” Pepper was looking over her shoulder, and Jo saw her smile. It wasn’t one of her polite smiles, this one was real. There was even a little bit of color in her cheeks. She didn’t say anything else, but Jo was pretty sure she got her point across. 

She was still smiling to herself when she walked into Tony’s lab, until she got a look at the genius. He looked the same as always, in a dirty tank top with his hair all messed up and greasy. There’s something about him though, something a little off. It’s almost like he’s glowing. Wait a minute, glowing…why does that sound familiar?

“Oh my God! You had sex!” Tony’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open, but it looks like the man has finally been reduced to speechlessness. Jo doubled over in laughter and laughed until tears streaked down her cheeks, and she could hear Tony laughing as he hugged her to him. 

“Is everything okay?” They both looked over to see Bruce standing in the doorway, and she can understand why he looks concerned. Her and Tony are hugging with tear tracks on their faces, and they both cracked up again as Bruce kept looking at them. “I guess everything is okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter was really long and probably a lot to take in, so just take a moment and let it all sink in. I know a lot happened, so please let me know if there's anything that doesn't make sense. This chapter was written in two sittings, which means I kinda spaced out and just let the words flow. So if anything seems weird, that's why. Leave a comment or send me a message if there's anything you want to talk about!


	21. Girl Power

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _i'm gonna do my thing_   
>  _i'm gonna do my thing_   
>  _i'm gonna my thing_   
>  **I'm Gonna Do My Thing by Royal Deluxe**

“S-s-sorry, Bru-uce. Wait, I think I’m done. Whew! Tony, breathin’ okay?” His chin is hooked over her shoulder and digging into the soft spot running along her neck, and she reached up to rub her hands across his shoulder blades. She felt his back expand as the arc reactor pressed against her chest, and a soft breath rustled some of her fallen hair. 

“Breathin’ is okay,” Tony huffed out and then stepped back. 

“Do I want to know?” Bruce sounded a little hesitant, and Jo felt her smile turn all dopey. She drifted over towards him and wrapped her arms around his middle while dropping her cheek to his chest, and she could feel Tony’s eyes on them. 

“Probably not. So, I have it on good authority that there are s’mores in the backyard.”

“My backyard?”

“Our backyard,” Jo corrected. She twisted just enough to cut her eyes over at Tony, who ducked his head to hide his smile. Looks like getting laid has put him in a really good mood. (Jo may trust Pepper, but she’s still keeping a close eye on Tony.)

“You want to join the others?” Bruce asked her. His hands are warm against the exposed skin of her hips, and she really wants to go cuddle him somewhere. Might as well be social while she cuddles him, right?

“Yes. I think we should all go down.” Tony raised an eyebrow at her but didn’t argue, so he is really mellowed out. It’s strange but…nice. She kept one arm around Bruce and extended the other to Tony, who twined his fingers with hers and let her pull him from the room. Jo was squished between the two scientists on the elevator ride down, despite all of the extra room. They stayed close together as they walked through the house towards the backyard, and Jo grinned as soon as they stepped outside. 

“They’re animals,” Tony whispered in mock horror. There was a small fire going with several seats around it, and all Jo could see was Clint standing on Thor’s shoulders while having a stick fight with Darcy. 

“Go mingle!” Jo managed to extricate herself and pushed the two scientists towards Steve and Maria, who were watching the spectacle with disapproval and fondness. She watched them stumble off and straighten before reaching the others, and her body stayed relaxed as she waited for Natasha to approach. 

“I saw you talking to Pepper.” Her words were quiet, and Jo glanced over. Natasha’s brighter green eyes were watching Clint’s movements, and the other woman looked just as at ease as Jo did. 

“We didn’t say much,” Jo shrugged. 

“What did you hear?”

“Why do you want to know?” They turned at the same time, and Jo’s always had a hard time meeting Natasha’s eyes head on. It doesn’t stop her from meeting the agent’s stare, but it’s still not an easy task. 

“I remember what he looked like, that night. It was like looking at Tony Stark’s ghost. I don’t want to see him like that again.” Natasha’s eyes flicked over to where Tony was standing now, but Jo didn’t have to look over. She knows that Tony has come a long way since he stopped drinking; she’s felt his body grow stronger day by day and listened as the nightmares slowly stopped. 

“She’s not out to get him, if that’s what you’re asking. She’s suffered too, just not where people can see.” Jo knows that Natasha cares about Tony, in her own way, so she understands why the deadly assassin is worried. 

“Good. Let me know if the situation changes.” Jo blinked and Natasha was already walking away. The mutant slowly shook her head, to rearrange all of tonight’s thoughts and revelations, before walking over to Bruce and Tony. 

“Come on! It’s marshmallow time!” Darcy yelled and tossed them some sticks. Everyone managed to find a seat and circled around the fire, and Jo put three giant marshmallows on her stick before sending it into the fire. 

“These’re really good,” Clint mumbled around a giant s’more. Jo’s cheeks were stuffed, so she nodded back. The fire was warm and the snacks were delicious, and everyone slowly quieted after stuffing themselves. 

“Thor,” Darcy drawled. She was propped up against the god’s side and had her feet thrown into Clint’s lap. She wasn’t alone in that. Natasha was stretched out on his other side with her feet on his other thigh, and the archer took turns massaging their feet. Maria was sitting on the ground with her back propped up against Steve’s shins, and the agent was lightly petting the chicken in her lap. Tony was laying on Jo, who was laying on Bruce, and everything felt perfect. 

“Yes, Darcy?” 

“Tell us a story. Somethin’ with a happy ending.” Darcy already sounded half asleep, and Thor laid a giant hand on the top of her head.

“How do stories start in Midgard?” 

“Once upon a time,” Darcy, Clint, Jo, and Maria chorused. Thor smiled around at all of them, and Jo let her eyes drift closed as Thor’s deep voice blanketed all of them. 

“Once upon a time, there were two little boys, brothers, on a grand quest to find the kingdom’s missing goblet. It was a magical goblet, with the power to make the drinker the one true ruler of the kingdom. One night, after the palace was deep in slumber…”

**August 24, 2014**

_“…and the two little boys returned to their beds to dream of their next quest.”_

Thor’s story had been just what Darcy wanted. A true bedtime story filled with adventure and hijinks, and there was a happy ending. Maybe that’s why it was so heartbreaking. She’d been in that hazy space between sleep and awake during the story, but she’s not stupid. She knows that the story was about him and Loki, and it breaks her heart to know what Thor has lost. She gets that Loki is a bad guy who did terrible things, but he wasn’t always a bad guy. Darcy stepped off the elevator with a little sigh and immediately straightened her shoulders. Thor is downstairs setting the breakfast table, and she’s here to collect…someone. She’s not really sure how things are going to work with Jo and Bruce dating, so she’s going to start with Tony’s room. 

“Time for brea—! Really? You two are still going at it?” Jo has just her shoulders propped up against the headboard, and Tony is laying between her spread legs with his head braced against her stomach. Jo’s fingers are lost in the genius’s wild hair, and it’s clear that they’re both alert but their eyes are closed. 

“Shh. ‘m concentratin’,” Jo mumbled. The mutant did have a little furrow between her eyebrows; what are they up to now?

“Is this some kinky sex thing?” Yeah, Jo and Bruce are dating but it’s Tony. Oh, wait, they’re not in a three way, are they?

“I can’t concentrate when the kid is over there thinking about three ways,” Jo said and finally opened her eyes. The mutant’s dark green eyes were surrounded by broken blood vessels, and Tony heaved himself up so that he was sitting in front of his bodyguard and not laying on her. 

“Three ways, huh? But we’re the kinky ones?” Tony’s eyebrows did a weird wiggling dance, and Darcy had to hold in her snort. 

“So what is going on?” She moved farther into the room and watched the way that Jo’s eyes cleared up until she looked completely normal. Jo looked over at Tony, who shrugged and then turned to look back at Darcy. 

“I’ve, uh, been learning how to control the telepathy. Do something more with it than just listen to other people’s thoughts.” 

“Something more?” Jo nodded, and it sent her loose hair tumbling over her shoulders. 

“I’ve been learning to project my thoughts, and I’m getting better at it. My, uh, voice is still kinda weak, but it’s getting stronger. So Tony got this idea, and we decided to test it.” Darcy turned to Tony then and waited for him to pick up the explanation. 

“I wanted to see if she could manipulate my thoughts to get things in the lab to move.”

“And?”

“I managed to get a screwdriver to wiggle and I got a massive headache,” Jo groaned. 

“It wasn’t a screwdriver,” Tony pouted. 

“Can you talk into my mind?” Normally having someone in her head other than her would freak her out, but Darcy trusts Jo. She knows that Jo wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. 

_“Is breakfast ready?”_ It was definitely Jo’s voice, but it was softer and very quiet. 

“Yep! Thor was carrying out the pancakes when I started up here,” Darcy said with a smile. It’s good that Jo is learning how to do more things with her telepathy. She knows that Jo wasn’t born with it, and she’s pretty sure that Jo was tortured into becoming a telepath. Pretty sure. So it’s good that she’s learning to accept it.

"Um, Jo?" Darcy looked over her shoulder to see Bruce standing in the open doorway, and he looks like he’s still half asleep. He missed two of the middle buttons on his shirt. 

“G’morning! Ready for breakfast?” Tony groaned and rolled off his bodyguard, and Darcy watched the genius’s back as he moved over to the bathroom. For an old guy, he’s in pretty good shape. 

“Breakfast sounds good,” Bruce said through a yawn. 

“You’re really okay with all of this?” Darcy asked him. Everyone knows that Tony and Jo are close, but she thought things would change once Bruce entered the picture. 

“Of course.”

“Don’t worry so much, kiddo,” Jo said and gently squeezed her shoulder as she slipped past. She’s wearing bright orange leggings and one of Tony’s many band tees, but Bruce is smiling and letting her snuggle up to him like an overgrown cat. 

“I thought we were getting food?” It looks like Tony is dressed for a day in the lab. Darcy looked around at all of them, her strange little family, and nodded. 

“Let’s go!”

**.xXx.**

“Are you feeling okay today?” Maria looked up from the table, which is so loaded down with food that she’s not sure how it’s still standing, to level a look at Steve.

“I’ll be cleared in a little over a week,” she pointed out. Her ribs are almost healed and then she’ll be back to active duty. She misses work, misses having a plan and a purpose, but she’ll miss being here. 

“Just making sure,” he said with a small smile. He’s too polite.

“I want the one shaped like a hammer!” Jo yelled and reached past three plates to snag a pancake. 

“I wanted that one!” Clint yelled back and moved to fight her for it. Isn’t it too early for them to fight? 

“You snooze you lose, Clinton!”

“I was here first, Josie!” 

“I wish I had their energy,” Steve sighed next to her. She quirked a brow at him, which made him huff out a laugh. 

“It’d be better if they used it productively,” Maria said as the two continued to squabble at the other end of the table. They didn’t stop until Thor walked into the room with another pancake shaped like a hammer, which Clint grabbed before Jo could. 

“Am I late?” Maria looked up as Pepper walked into the room, and she slowly chewed on her own pancake. She’s not really sure what to make of Pepper’s reappearance. She respects the woman, for being able to put up with Stark and for being an overall good person. She knows how hard Pepper has been working to turn Stark Industries around.

“We just got started,” Steve answered since everyone else was too busy eating. Pepper smiled at him as she sat down next to Tony, and the table continued on as usual. Thor and Darcy are talking about whatever pops into their heads while Darcy feeds bits of food to Jade; Clint and Natasha are talking in whispers (Natasha) and giggles (Clint). Jo is sitting between Tony and Bruce; the two scientists are talking while Jo talks to Pepper, but Jo keeps reaching out to touch Bruce and Pepper pokes Tony to remind him to eat. 

“They really are something, huh?” Maria was quiet, but Steve heard her. 

“We’re a good team. All of us.” There’s a look in his eyes, but Maria is just going to ignore it. She can’t stay here. Once she’s healed, she’s got a job to do. 

“Hey, everyone! Before you leave, I gotta talk to ya!” Darcy was standing in her chair, and all eyes turned to her. She waited for the room to quiet down and then started talking. “We need to keep doing team bonding stuff, so Thor and I were talking about some stuff that we could do. We’re thinking hide-n-seek.”

“Can we do partners?!” Jo yelled out. 

“Partners!” Clint yelled and threw a fist in the air. Darcy twisted around so that she could do a quick head count, but she stopped at Pepper. 

“Do you wanna play?” Pepper looked up at Darcy, looked over at Tony, glanced past him to look at Jo, and then finally looked back at Darcy. 

“Sure, why not?”

“Partners!” Darcy declared. The room seemed to explode with sound, and Maria had to look down to hide her smile. Earth’s Mightiest Heroes indeed. 

“Would you like to be my partner?” There’s no way she could ever turn down Steve’s million watt smile. Or say no to that jawline. 

“I would be honored.”

**.xXx.**

“Does this count as my morning workout?” She’s sweating a little and using muscles she didn’t know she had, so this has to be close enough to a workout to count.

“You’ll have to ask Nat.” When Darcy proposed that everyone play hide-n-seek, she never thought she’d wind up in an air vent with Clint. Then again, nothing should really surprise her at this point. 

“It feels like a workout. You really do this all the time?” Clint looked back at her, because they’re crawling single-file, and his smile looks terrifying in this dim light. 

“C’mon, Darce, this isn’t that bad. There’s an opening just up ahead.” Darcy groaned and continued to crawl on her elbows, because she’s pretty sure that this is the best hiding spot ever. Who looks in air vents? What felt like an eternity later but was probably just five minutes later, several vents converged into a big open space. Clint propped himself up against one side, so Darcy sat across from him and stretched her legs out. It meant that her legs were thrown over Clint’s, but whatever. She’s massaging her knees. 

“You never get claustrophobic?” she whispered. She doesn’t want to take any chances. Natasha and Steve both have super hearing, even if they both deny it. 

“Nah, not really. It’s comfortable,” Clint shrugged. 

“Do you go vent climbing on top secret spy missions?” Clint’s laugh sounded rough, but he’s still smiling at her. 

“Sometimes. Vent climbing isn’t my specialty though.” She kinda hates that word now. Specialty. Jo’s specialty is killing. Natasha’s specialty is being a spy. Clint is an archer. 

“I know that. You’re all about the _whoosh_.” She mimed shooting an arrow and then used her hands, along with some awesome sound effects, to mime an explosion. Clint’s silent laughter was like a reward, and she wants to do that again. Yeah, Clint is usually laidback, except for when he’s fighting with Jo. He’s a fun guy. Most of the time. He gets that same look in his eye as everyone else when he thinks no one is watching. All of them are carrying something with them that makes them a little darker. Darcy knows it sounds ridiculous, but it’s true. It doesn’t matter how much they smile or joke around, there’s always something just behind their laughter. Darcy doesn’t have that. She’s looked.

“Darcy?” She blinked to get her eyes to focus, and _whoa_. Clint’s eyes are really pretty up close. What color even is that? It’s something more than hazel. It’s like every color is mixed in there. 

“Huh?” She’s nearly speechless. Now that she’s paying attention, she can feel Clint’s hand on her shoulder. 

“Where’d you go?” How’d he get so close without her noticing? And there’s that look. It’s not fear, but something close. 

“I don’t want that look.” She feels like she’s headed for a breakdown, and it’s getting hard to breathe. 

“What look?” Clint looks confused, which she gets because she feels confused too. She should drop this, but she’s never been good at holding back. She’s always been the type to spew out whatever comes to mind. 

“The look that all of you get. All it takes is a word or a noise sometimes, and you’ll get that look. Like you’re somewhere else. It’s dark and ugly and I don’t want it.” She’s shaking, just a little, and she can’t make herself stop talking. “I get where it comes from, in theory. You’ve all been through stuff. Torture, wars, killing…That look comes from horrible things, and I don’t want that look.”

“I don’t want you to have that look either.” Clint’s thumb is rough against her cheek, which is just enough sensation to keep her grounded. She reached up to grab his hand with both of hers, and she held his hand against her cheek while she got her breathing back to normal. She lives with assassins, gods, soldiers…She’s a mutant, but she doesn’t want to change. She doesn’t want to be a killer. Or a fighter. 

“Please don’t tell anyone that I freaked out in an air vent.” He used the hand still touching her face to get her eyes to meet his, and she was thankful to see his smile. 

“Your secret is safe with me.” She leaned forward to hug him, and it felt good to just hold on after getting that out. It’s something that’s been eating at her since Jo’s fight in the park, and she knows that she’ll wind up talking to Jo about it at some point. For now though, she feels better. 

“Thanks, really.” It was sort of mumbled as she pulled away, but Clint could hear her since they’re pretty much plastered together. 

“I’m always here if you need me.” Their eyes locked for a moment, and Darcy was the first one to crack. They laughed until tears streaked down their cheeks, and Darcy had to hold onto Clint’s shoulder to keep from falling over. 

“That was so cheesy!” Clint’s continued laughter ruffled the hair clinging to her neck, and she wiped her cheek on his shoulder. 

“Still true.”

“Yeah, I know.” Clint knocked his temple against hers and then turned around to start crawling again. 

“We should move before someone finds us.”

“Right behind ya.”

**.xXx.**

“Bruce?”

“Pepper?”

They’re sitting outside, because they agreed that no one would look outside, behind a bush in the backyard. It’s a warm day, plenty of sun, and the grass is soft enough. This isn’t really how Bruce thought he would spend his day, but he sees the point of it. They’re a team. If they can fight together, they can…play team bonding games together. Pepper is a bit of a surprise. He doesn’t know her very well; he spent some time at Tony’s after the Extremis incident, and Pepper was always polite to him. He was still walking on eggshells then, always ready for rejection and fear. 

“Tony and Jo’s relationship doesn’t bother you, does it?” That’s the second time he’s been asked that today. He doesn’t understand why people are surprised. 

“No, it doesn’t. They’re good for each other, and I don’t want to be the one that forces them apart. Do you?” Bruce respects Pepper, but he cares about Jo and Tony. 

“No, no, of course not. They are good for each other. Without Jo, I don’t know what would have happened to Tony.” He can still hear them sometimes. Chattering teeth over a speaker. Jo’s panic. Tony’s panic. 

“Are you moving back in?” It’s a very forward question, something that he usually wouldn’t ask because he doesn’t like confrontation, but he’d like to know what to expect. 

“I don’t know. Maybe. It’s up to Tony, really. It’s always been up to Tony.” Pepper’s smile is soft, and Bruce shifts around to get a little more comfortable. He’s never been good with small talk. Even less so with emotional conversations. 

“Have you seen them together? Really seen them?” Jo and Tony have been attached at the hip since he moved in, it’s just how they are, and he’s used to it. There’s no reason to be jealous. If they wanted to be together, they would be. 

“I saw them in bed together, if that’s what you mean. Tony said the cuddles help with the nightmares.” For some reason, Bruce did not expect Tony to be that honest. 

“She washes his hair too.”

“So that’s why it’s not completely caked in grease.” They both started laughing, quiet laughter to keep from getting found, and Bruce felt a little better about the situation. It’s good to know that Pepper really is just as reasonable as he always thought she was. “We really are lucky to have them.”

“We are.” Jo touches him without looking, because she just wants to be near him. This morning, her thoughts mixed with his at the breakfast table to let him know how happy she was. Among other things. It’s a miracle that his face isn’t still bright red. 

“Do you think anyone would notice if we slipped away to get lunch?” They have been hiding for a while without getting caught, and he could go for a sandwich. 

“I’m sure we’d be forgiven if we brought back enough for everyone.”

“That sounds fair.”

**.xXx.**

“Why are we hiding in the theater?” This is where Tony dragged her to, which Jo thinks is a little weird. Isn’t the theater one of the first places they’ll look?

“Because it’s dark and well ventilated. Also, cushioned seats.” Tony is sitting in one of the seats with his feet kicked up on the seat in front of him, and Jo is sitting next to him with her legs thrown over his. 

“Do you wanna talk about Pepper?” She can hear the woman’s name echoing in his mind, even though he’s not actively thinking about her. 

“Are you trying to be a therapist?” 

“Just your friend.” She kept smiling even when he rolled his eyes, and she moved around to get more comfortable. She wound up with her head on Tony’s shoulder and her legs curled under her, but this works. 

“We should move slow, right? To make sure that we’re both ready.” 

“That sounds perfectly reasonable.”

“But I don’t wanna be reasonable!” It sounds like he’s headed for a full blown sulk, and she really wants to laugh but probably shouldn’t. 

“Then don’t be. I mean, is anyone in this house reasonable?”

“Maria is.” Okay, she can’t really argue that. Agent Hill is a very put-together person, but the rest of them are less reasonable. 

“Just do what feels right.”

“Is that what you’re doing with Bruce? What feels right?” She pinched his side until he yelped, and they pushed against each other for a moment. They seemed to give up at the same time and slumped against each other. 

“I could make a joke out of that last statement, but I’m going to be an adult for a few minutes. Yes, that is what I’m doing with Bruce. Neither one of us has any idea what we’re doing. We’re making it up as we go. We’re doing what feels right.”

“So, if I wanted to be with Pepper again, really be with her, I should just go for it?” Pepper left Tony, for his own good. Tony knows and accepts that. He’s even better for it. They’ve both healed and both want to move on, with each other. Maybe their relationship was just on hold? Like it was paused and was always meant to start again. 

“Yeah, I think you should go for it.” Tony’s mind feels calm, which is something that it never feels like. 

“Will you be my best man?” She’s not sure if that means he’s going to propose to Pepper the next time he sees her or if it’s just a future plan, but it doesn’t really matter. She knows her answer. 

“You betcha.”

**.xXx.**

“It’s really nice out here.” Maria and Steve are sitting on the front porch, so they’re technically abiding by the rules of staying in the house. Steve didn’t want to be too inventive since her ribs are still healing, and it’s so nice outside that she doesn’t feel like arguing.

“Beautiful,” Steve agreed. This is a nice way to spend the day. Later, when she’s back in the field and thinking on her feet to survive, she’ll remember this. The sun, the warmth, the feeling of being completely carefree, the way that one stubborn lock of hair flops over Steve’s eyebrow. Yes, this is going to make a very nice memory.

**.xXx.**

“Natasha?”

“Hmm?”

“I thought to win the game we must seek the others.” Thor has a very good point, but Natasha is happy with working on her tan. When they got up to the roof and she saw the big cushioned lawn chairs, it was like fate. It only took a matter of seconds to strip and lay in the sun, and Thor even joined her. 

“We’ll seek them later. Isn’t this fun?”

“I do enjoy the feeling of the sun.”

“There you go! We’ll give them plenty of time to hide and then we’ll go seeking.”

**.xXx.**

“Six hours! I was in an air vent for six hours!” Darcy yelled with Clint standing behind her.

“We fell asleep!” Jo yelled and pointed between her and Tony.

“You almost gave Steve a sunburn!” Maria yelled and tried not to laugh at the captain’s light blush. 

“It was strategic!” Natasha yelled with Thor nodding vigorously behind her. 

“We got pizza!” Pepper yelled. Everyone turned to stare at her and Bruce where they were framed in the doorway, but the looks didn’t last long. All of the attention went straight to the pizza boxes in their arms. The pizza was quickly unloaded, and loud thank-yous were yelled in between bites. Pepper caught Bruce’s eyes as everyone ate, and he gave her a shy nod of his head before turning back to Jo. 

“You and Bruce carried all this?” Tony asked her. He’s actually eating, without any prompting, so he must actually be hungry. 

“I’m stronger than I look.”

“Girl power!” Jo yelled. Darcy and Maria whooped with her, and even Natasha banged her fist on the table a little. 

“So, who won?” Darcy’s question was innocent, but it caused most of the people at the table to start yelling about who the ultimate winner was. 

“Is it always like this?” Pepper whispered. 

“Usually. Is that okay?” Tony whispered back. She’s sitting at a table with two mutants, two assassins, a soldier from the forties, the right-hand of SHIELD, Hulk, a god, and a mad scientist. 

“I think I can get used to it.” She smiled to let him know that she was joking, that she’s completely okay with everyone here, and he smiled back. She’s never seen Tony look so light before, and she knows it’s because of the people sitting at this table. She’s never been more okay with anything in her life. “I can definitely get used to it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that it was kind of short, compared to some of my other chapters, but the next chapter is going to have a little more action in it. I've got the next few chapters planned out, but I just recently graduated so things are kinda crazy right now. 
> 
> I really like writing these chapters; the ones where everyone is just goofing off and enjoying life. There is more plot to come, actual plot, so enjoy these chapters when you can. If there's anything that anyone would like to see, I am open to taking requests. Thank you so much to everyone reading and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!


	22. Tis A Most Wondrous Move

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _it was rather beautiful_   
>  _the way he put her insecurities to sleep_   
>  _the way he dove into her eyes_   
>  _and starved all the fears_   
>  _and tasted all the dreams_   
>  _she kept coiled beneath her bones_   
>  **Christopher Poindexter**   
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small Warning: There's a double dose of sexy times in this chapter. It's not very graphic, but you can still skip it.

**August 28, 2014**

Hulk ducked the hammer aiming for his head, and Bruce absently felt the move. Hulk enjoyed sparring with Thor, Thor was always happy to join him for a bout of violence, and Bruce didn’t have to worry because Thor could hold his own against Hulk. He got to retreat to his own little corner inside his shared mind and think. It’s been a little over a week since he and Jo crossed the line from relaxed friends to lovers, and Bruce is still a little surprised at how easy the transition has been. It’s like nothing changed, but everything did. The group dynamics are still the same; Natasha and Jo train Darcy, Jo still forces the grease out of Tony’s hair, and they all still have breakfast and dinner together. Jo still brings his lunch up to the lab, but now sometimes they cuddle afterwards. They’ve also started having “Hulk” time after lunch, and sometimes the big guy reads to Jo until she falls into her afternoon nap.

Bruce wasn’t sure what to expect when Jo showed up three afternoons ago with poster boards, until he realized she made Hulk-sized flash cards. (Hulk is surprisingly good with addition and subtraction, and Bruce is itching to start on multiplication and division but Jo and Darcy haven’t finished the new flash cards yet.) They’re getting more comfortable with each other now; there’s less surprise after realizing they’re not alone in bed. (Pepper has been staying over more recently, and Jo keeps “sleep-walking” into Bruce’s bed.) Despite sharing one bed, Bruce’s, they haven’t had sex since that first night. Instead they’ve backtracked. Jo blushed the first time Bruce held her hand under the dinner table, and sometimes Jo pulls Bruce down onto the couch with her so they can make out like teenagers. (Those moments are Bruce’s favorite part of the day, even though they leave him aching and make it hard to concentrate. Because Jo always leaves the lab with her lips red and swollen, her long hair completely down and tangled from his fingers, and an extra sway guiding her curvy hips.)

In short, Bruce can’t remember the last time he was this happy. Maybe it was when Tony Stark poked him on the hellicarrier without being afraid of the monster inside of him, or when Tony Stark told him that both he and Hulk were good. (Bruce will always consider hearing Tony’s words that day as one of the happiest days of his life, because it led him to Hulk. It led him to the truth.) This morning after breakfast when Thor asked him for a spar, Jo kissed him on the cheek and said it sounded like a wonderful idea. When Hulk took his place, Jo kissed him on the cheek and told him to have fun. Bruce knew that if he ever entered into another relationship, the other person would have to accept Hulk as another part of him. He never thought a year ago, when this realization came to him, that he would be with someone who accepted Hulk for Hulk and would so easily show that acceptance in front of anyone. Bruce almost wished she had joined them, but she was up in her room either knitting or making flash cards with Darcy. (Tony and Pepper had a business meeting, and Pepper promised that they could go somewhere fun afterwards to make up for it. Natasha and Clint were doing a little spying today. Maria and Steve were at the doctor’s office, to see if Maria’s ribs were healed yet.)

“Time out!” Bruce tuned back in at the sound of Jo’s voice just as Hulk turned to look at her. She was standing in the doorway to the gym, and Darcy was sitting in a chair next to her. Hulk had Thor in a headlock, but the god wasn’t struggling to get free. They’re in a time out. 

“Okay?” Hulk’s speech was better, is getting better and better as the days go on, but the big guy was a little breathless.

“Bruce has a visitor, so I’ll keep Thor busy until you get back,” Jo grinned. Hulk huffed because they both knew something was wrong. When Jo smiled, really smiled, it was a little crooked. The left side of her lips pulled up more to show a little dimple. If she grinned, teeth and all, it meant she was making herself smile. 

“Who is the visitor?” Hulk asked. Jo shuffled from one foot to the other, and Thor slipped out of Hulk’s loose hold. 

“Doctor Ross.”

**_“Betty,”_** Hulk thought. The big guy was torn between wanting to see Betty and worrying about her father. Bruce had the same line of thinking. 

_“We’re safe here, Hulk. General Ross can’t hurt us anymore,”_ Bruce said quietly. Tony told Bruce that Hulk was cleared by SHIELD so that General Ross couldn’t touch him, and that Bruce was safe. Hulk was safe. 

“I left her in the kitchen with some of your tea. I thought you might want some alone time,” Jo said as she raised the clothes in her hand. It’s the clothes that he left folded in the chair that Darcy is now sitting in, because he’s just in a pair of Hulk shorts. Hulk walked over to her and gently took the clothes, and Jo smiled up at him. A real smile but still a little too small; Hulk couldn’t see the dimple.

“I was winning.” The left side of Jo’s mouth quirked up, just like Hulk wanted. She reached up towards his face and flexed her fingers in what she called grabby hands, and Hulk scooped her up with the hand not holding his clothes. Fingers ruffled his hair, making it stick up, and Jo bent forward to smack her lips against Hulk’s forehead. 

“That’s because my Hulkster always wins. Now, let me test my might against Thor for a bit while you go play nice doctor. Later you can read me a bedtime story, okay?”

“Promise?”

“Promise.” Hulk smiled at her, and Bruce could feel his other half’s contentment even stronger than he could feel his own. He gently placed Jo back on the ground, and she reached up to pat his hand before moving over to where Thor was waiting. Hulk stayed in the gym long enough to watch Jo jump into the air with her foot aimed at Thor’s head before walking towards the elevator. Hulk shifted back into Bruce inside the elevator, and Bruce hurriedly put on his clothes. His mind was whirling, trying to figure out why Betty was here. Trying to figure out how Betty knew to come here. Soon he’d have his answers. Maybe sooner than he was prepared for.

**.xXx.**

“I mean, she’s—”

Strong knee against her ribcage. Iron fist against his jaw. 

“—just so pretty. One of those—”

Fingers wrapped around her ankle, holding her in midair. Feeling her stomach muscles tensing and releasing as she swings to duck from the blows. 

“—classic beauties, ya know? With the pale skin—”

Her legs are wrapped around his forearm so she can slam her fists into his knee and get loose.

“—and big blue eyes, and those perfect lips!”

Her arms are crossed over her head and holding off a blow that would give a weaker person severe head trauma, if not kill them completely. 

“She’s smart too! Like super genius smart! I bet she understands all of Bruce’s science talk! It’d help if she was mean, but she’s so nice! Even her thoughts are all blue and serene! She’s perfect,” Jo groaned. Thor was perched on her back, pinning her to the ground, and Jo’s forehead was pressed tight against the floor. 

“Makes you wonder why he picked the exact opposite,” Darcy tossed out. There was sarcasm in her tone, but Jo was too busy wallowing in insecurity to notice. 

“I know!” Thor reached forward to pat Jo on top of the head, which just made her groan even louder. 

“It’s not like you’re all curvy and hot, or an awesome cook, or really sweet sometimes. Yeah, you’re none of those things,” Darcy drawled out. 

“Don’t make me ground you, young lady, because I will.”

“You’ve got a Thor on your back, so you’re not that threatening right now,” Darcy said with a grin. 

“You’ll help me, right, Thor?” Jo’s neck twisted so that she could look over her shoulder at Thor, and she could nearly hear Darcy pouting in the background. Jo didn’t even know pouts had sounds, but Darcy is proving her wrong. And no one can say no to Darcy’s pouts. 

“She is not wrong, Jo.”

“What?! I am totally threatening!” She could hear Darcy laughing openly now, and Thor placed one giant hand on top of her head. 

“You have much to offer Bruce. You are kind and strong, fair and brave. No man could ask for a better lover.” Jo was starting to blush; she could feel it. “If Bruce wished to be with his old lover, he would have sought her out long ago. He is with you, because he wants you.”

“I know, but I’m still a girl. I’m allowed to be a little insecure sometimes,” Jo said with a pout of her own. 

“Yeah, well, get over it. You’re both awesome, but your big green lover still likes you the bestest. Now, get up and train me. I wanna learn how to do that thigh lock that Natasha does all the time.”

“’Tis a most wondrous move,” Thor said and finally stood up. Jo sucked in a deep breath before jumping to her feet, and she smiled over at both of them. A little fighting always did cheer her up.

**.xXx.**

“Bruce!” Betty was sitting at the kitchen bar, on one of the rarely used stools, sipping at a cup of tea. She was dressed casually, in a black skirt and a short-sleeved blouse that was the same blue as her eyes. Bruce felt a little inadequate in his loose jeans and faded blue button-up. He wasn’t even wearing shoes, and he couldn’t remember the last time he brushed his hair. Actually, right now, he couldn’t remember if he even owned a brush. (Not that it matters; Jo has a brush stashed on his night table.)

“Betty. How did you find me?” What he really wanted to ask was if her father knew how to find him just in case he decided to come after Hulk again, and he could tell from the look on Betty’s face that she knew the real question too. 

“The General is out tracking some of those escaped prisoners. He wasn’t too happy about SHIELD clearing you, but there’s nothing he can do about it. That’s not why I’m here.”

“Why are you here?” The last time he saw Betty was in Harlem, while they were surrounded by destruction. Then he ran, because it was the only thing he knew how to do. Betty smiled, a little shakily, and met his eyes. 

“Is it so strange that I might want to see you? I asked Director Fury where you were after I saw you on the news, fighting off those aliens? He told me you earned a day off, but I saw you again on TV last week. Fury finally told me where you were.” It made sense, of course it did. She probably wanted answers, explanations as to why he ran off without saying a word. He wasn’t ready to talk about that, not with her. Not yet. 

“Tony asked me to move in and gave me a lab. Saying no wasn’t really an option,” Bruce said with a small smile of his own. Betty’s smile smoothed out; no matter what happened between them, they would always have science. 

“Can I see it?”

**.xXx.**

“Ten out of ten, would do again,” Jo breathed out. One of Thor’s long legs was thrown over her midsection, and the other leg was pinning Darcy to the ground.

“As would I,” Thor smiled. Jo knows he’s smiling too; she can _feel_ the happy brainwaves rolling off the god without going anywhere near his thoughts. 

“You’re both insane,” Darcy huffed. The three of them were completely wiped out but, despite Darcy’s complaints, all three of them were smiling. Darcy pulled off a pretty good leg throw. Not as good as one of Natasha’s, but no one is as good as Natasha. 

“I see you three haven’t had any problems entertaining yourselves.” Jo smiled wider at the sound of Bruce’s voice and raised her hand in a wave without opening her eyes. 

“Bruce, my darlin’! Come join our sweaty, post-sparring cuddle!” Jo called. 

“It’s a trap!” Darcy yelled. 

“Unless you wish to spar again!” Thor added. 

“Ugh, no more. I can’t. Even my soul is tired,” Darcy groaned. Jo let her head roll to the side and slowly blinked her eyes open, and she felt her whole body tense when she realized Bruce wasn’t alone. Dr. Ross was standing at Bruce’s side and looking into the room with a mixture of curiosity and confusion. Probably because there’s a god with two women pinned under his thighs. 

“Betty, this is Thor and Darcy,” Bruce said quietly. 

“It is an honor!”

“What he said!” Dr. Ross looked confused but smiled as she said it was an honor to meet them as well. Jo was looking around at the scene and trying to figure out if she was dreaming when she met Bruce’s eyes, and she raised a brow. 

“Betty didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye.”

“To me? Wow, I didn’t know I could make such an impression that fast. Alright, big guy, let me up,” Jo said with a pat to Thor’s knee. The limb was lifted easily, it’s good to know that Thor is built like a mountain but still as flexible as a river, and she’s gotta stop watching Mulan. Jo wiggled out from under him, and she gave a quick smile to the two still spread across the floor. She was grinning at the two geniuses as she walked over, but she still felt a little unsettled inside. Bruce and Betty spent _hours_ together, and what she has with Bruce is still so new. The temptation to take a peek, just a little one, was overwhelming. She wasn’t going to though, because she trusts Bruce. 

“Would you mind walking me out?” Jo blinked, twice, before nodding. Betty smiled at her and then turned to Bruce with a quiet, “I’ll call you later.”

The elevator ride was uncomfortable, but it didn’t make Jo’s top ten list of uncomfortable elevator rides. Hell, it didn’t even make the top twenty list. And that’s after writing off all the elevator rides that included Nick Fury after accidentally destroying something. Like a jet. Still, it felt like a lifetime before they were walking across to foyer to the front door. Betty walked outside and stood on the top step, waiting. Jo gently closed the door behind her and went to stand next to the female genius. The two of them looked out over the front yard, which was surprisingly large for Manhattan, in complete silence. Jo was just starting to get fidgety when Betty finally spoke. 

“Do you remember your first?” The large muscles on either side of Jo’s spine tensed, but she kept a smile on her face. 

“My first what?” A person has a lot of firsts.

“The first man you ever loved. Not some childhood crush, but _real_ love?”

“Yeah, sure. I was twenty and angry at the world, and he was a cocky asshole that kept making me laugh. You might have heard of him, goes by the name Johnny Storm?” Jo glanced at the woman from the corner of her eyes, but she didn’t react at all. Eh, Jo probably wasn’t the only girl who had Johnny Storm as a first love. 

“My first was a scientist, a brilliant scientist, that just had to be a hero. Would you have liked him then? Before?” She was talking about Bruce; of course she was talking about Bruce. The good little scientist that shooed some idiot away from a gamma bomb and then got hit himself. 

“I don’t know, I didn’t know him then. I like who he is now, so that should count for something. Do you like him now?”

“I’ll always love Bruce. You always love your first, don’t you?” Betty met her eyes, and Jo saw Johnny’s laughing blue eyes. Still, the two situations don’t compare. Jo’s read Bruce’s file, and Betty’s for that matter. The two were together for years; they were each other’s first everything, if Jo is picking up on Betty’s thoughts just right. What she and Johnny had, all those years ago, was a strong mix of lust and obsession that can easily be mistaken for love. She does still care for the idiot though.

“Yeah, I guess so, but that isn’t what I asked you.” Betty looked away from her, and Jo went back to checking out the scenery. It’s getting late now; the sun’s starting to set, and the sky is lit up with pretty colors. (JARVIS informed her that Tony and Pepper took Steve and Maria out to dinner, to celebrate Maria’s good health. She really hopes they can see this sunset.)

“I trust the Hulk. He saved us, and I know the Hulk wouldn’t hurt me. Do you like them both? I don’t know if I could, if Bruce let me in again. I’m not sure if I could ever really accept the Hulk.”

“It’s just Hulk. I don’t call you the Betty, do I?” Maybe Jo’s tone was a little sharper than intended, and she didn’t turn her head when she felt Betty’s eyes boring against the side of her face.

“You really do like them both.” It was said with a kind of wonder that made Jo’s skin itch, and she absently noted the way her nails pulled against the bare skin of her thighs. Maybe she shouldn’t have worn the shorty shorts.

“Don’t tell Bruce, but Hulk is my favorite. What can I say? The big guy gives a mean cuddle. You still love Bruce despite the fact that Hulk’s inside of him, right?” Jo wasn’t focusing or actively searching, but she could feel the thought just the same. It might be because of how hyper-focused she was on hearing Hulk’s name inside of the woman’s mind. 

“You already know the answer.” Which was a yes, and it just goes to show that geniuses can be a little dumb sometimes. 

“That’s the difference between us, Ross. You still love him _despite_ ; I like him all the more because of Hulk. Hulk isn’t some monster that popped up one day because of some experiment gone wrong; Hulk is Bruce and Bruce is Hulk. I know you two can probably make it all complicated with your science babble, but it’s really simple to me. It’s just one person with two different names,” Jo shrugged. 

“You’re good for him.” It was whispered, and Jo just snorted. She’s not perfect, far from it, but she still isn’t letting him go. Not until he asks her to. 

“He deserves it,” was what she said. 

“Yes, he does. Take care, Holbrook.” Jo watched her go, and the gate was closing when the front door opened. Darcy and Thor stood on either side of her, and Jo’s neck popped when she turned her head to look at both of them. Huh, maybe she’s a little tense. 

“Before you go back inside, we may have asked JARVIS to eavesdrop,” Darcy confessed. 

“Only to ensure that we were not needed,” Thor added. Did they think she was going to beat up Bruce’s ex? Yeah, she had a moment of insecurity, but she isn’t crazy. 

“Also, you hooked up with Johnny Storm?!” Darcy’s eyes were bright when she looked over, and Jo lightly nudged her elbow against the younger woman. 

“It was forever and a day ago, when I was still young and stupid.” Darcy was still laughing when she felt Thor’s hand on her shoulder, and she looked up at the resident god. 

“Bruce is waiting inside. You should go to him,” Thor said with a gentle smile. 

“Because we’re going to get ice cream!” Darcy cheered. Jo stood on the porch to watch them walk away, arm in arm, and it was a beautiful scene. For a moment, Jo wished she was good at drawing so that she could capture the innocent joy in Darcy’s smile and the setting sunlight in Thor’s hair. Maybe if she describes it to Cap, he’ll be able to draw it. (He told her about his drawings, about how hard it was to start again after coming out of the ice, but he’s making progress.) 

Alright, no more stalling. Jo took a deep breath and turned back towards the house. She ducked back inside, and she braced her back against the closed door as Bruce’s eyes met hers. He obviously heard her little convo with Betty, so what’s she supposed to do now? She’s not apologizing for that small snap at Betty; the genius deserved it for messing up Hulk’s name like that. 

“So, fun day all around, right?” Jo asked with a too wide grin. She knew it was too wide because those lines were between Bruce’s brows again; the ones that she always wants to smooth out with kisses. 

“I apologized for running away without a word, and for not trying to get in touch with her once I was…once I didn’t have to run anymore. I told her about meeting Dizzy and talking to Hulk. Betty’s always been a good listener and very forgiving; it was nice talking to her again.”

“I’m glad you two got to talk it out then. You know I’m okay with you two talking, right? I am once hundred percent completely okay with it.” Relationships are built on trust; she’s pretty sure she read that in a magazine somewhere, and it makes sense. She trusts Bruce. 

“No, I know, and thanks for that. It’s just, I always thought Betty was at least okay with Hulk.” Right, the weird conversation she just had with her boyfriend’s ex while he listened in. She was hoping they were going to pretend it never happened. 

“She is! She wasn’t lying about trusting him. I would know,” Jo said and gently tapped the side of her head. 

“What you said, you weren’t lying? About…us?” For a second, Jo thought he was talking about the two of them before realizing that he meant himself and Hulk. 

“Yeah, sorry, Hulk is my favorite. His cuddles are the stuff of legend, and his bedtime stories are the best.” Her smile was actually real this time, and she didn’t even care that her natural smile was a little crooked. 

“I’m going to kiss you now. Okay?” Jo’s heart didn’t do that storybook thing where it skipped a beat, but her chest did tighten a bit as heat rushed to her head. She felt a little dizzy and was glad there was a door behind her keeping her up. 

“That is _so_ okay.”

Bruce’s kiss was so hard that the back of her head hit the door, but she was not going to let something so small slow her down. Her fingers instantly reached up to pull on his hair, to give him that porcupine look that made her weak in the knees, as her lips parted under his. It was getting hard to breathe, but Jo couldn’t pull away. Not when Bruce’s tongue was tracing equations on the roof of her mouth while his hands were _everywhere_. The tank top she was wearing, which thankfully had a good built-in bra, was roughly pushed up. She managed to wiggle enough to get her arms out, but she couldn’t pull away. The top was left around her neck, but she was okay with that. Really. As long as Bruce finished pulling her shorts off, she was completely okay with wearing her top as a scarf.

“Do you want me to stop?” Jo’s eyes popped open, and Bruce’s pupils were so big that she could only see a small ring of brown.

“Never,” she smiled. Her hands traced the width of his shoulders before moving to his collar, and she made sure to hold his gaze as she ripped his shirt open. She vaguely heard buttons echoing off the floor, but she was more focused on the teeth pulling at her bottom lip. Fingers scrambled against the button of his pants, and Jo groaned as she tore at his zipper. Why were clothes so complicated? They should just stay naked, all the time. A happy sigh slipped into Bruce’s mouth as she finally pushed his pants off his hips, and the sound changed into a squeal as she was suddenly lifted into the air. 

The thing about Bruce was that his alter-ego was nine feet tall and built like an adamantium fortress, so people tended to see him as small. Next to Hulk, everyone is small, but Bruce isn’t a pushover. His hands were big and rough, and he used his grip on her thighs to effortlessly pick her up and press her back even harder against the door. Jo’s fingers pulled at his hair as she waited, and she had to bite back a whine when Bruce pulled away from her. His lips drug across her neck to her shoulder, and she twisted and arched so he could have more access to her skin. 

“You sure?” It sounded more like a growl, and Jo smiled even though the grip his teeth had on her shoulder should have been painful.

“Always such a gentleman. Yes, I’m sure. C’mon, Bruce, please.” His teeth were still buried in her shoulder when he entered her, and Jo’s mind flashed to those stupid romance books. This was the part where the woman screamed and finally felt complete. Jo didn’t scream, but that clichéd completeness was almost accurate. Bruce stilled against her, giving her time to adjust, because that’s the kind of man he is. Even though he was shaking as he held himself back, he wanted to make sure that she wasn’t in any pain. Silly Bruce, tanks don’t feel pain. She tightened her thighs to pull him just that little bit closer and nipped the top of his ear, and Bruce took it as the signal that it was. 

Their first time was so slow and gentle that it was almost torture, and this time was the exact opposite. Jo’s back scraped against the door with Bruce’s rough thrusts, and she could already feel the bruises forming under his fingers on her thighs. Fingers pulled and scratched at skin, teeth left marks over freckles and tense muscles, and it was still somehow perfect. The sound of the shaking door, skin sliding against skin, and shaky gasps filled and echoed in the room. Jo thought it was the most beautiful thing she’d ever heard. This time she came with a scream of Bruce’s name, and she felt the groan of her own name against the tender skin of her shoulder as Bruce fell apart against her. 

Jo felt like a statue made out of jelly, so she wasn’t sure how Bruce was still on his feet. He was though and still holding her up as well. She tightened her legs and loosened her arms, and she let her head fall back against the door as she tried to catch her breath. Bruce’s labored breathing was drying the sweat on the side of her neck and making her shiver in the best possible way, and she wished there was a way to save these moments and relive them. Because this? This was one of the things that made life worth living. Not just the amazing sex that actually made her toes curl (who knew that was a real thing?), but the part after. Bruce’s hands were gentle as he ran them over her shuttering ribcage, and Jo can’t remember ever feeling so cared for. Not _after_. 

“Okay?” Bruce breathed against her. 

“That was amazin’. Are you ever gonna stop surprisin’ me?” Jo realized that she sounded a little drunk, but being with Bruce did that to her. 

“Will you go on a date with me?” Jo’s laugh was sharp and sudden, and she felt Bruce’s laugh joining her own as he shook against her. 

“And the surprises keep comin’. I would love to go on a date with you, Bruce, but it’ll have to be tomorrow. I’ve already made a promise for tonight.” Bruce pulled away from her skin, and Jo smiled once she got to see his pretty brown eyes again. Because they were pretty. Sometimes they were dark like chocolate and other times they were warm like his honeyed tea. 

“You still want to hear a bedtime story?” Jo idly pulled on one of his curls, gently, and nodded. Her sweaty back was still pressed against the front door and she could still feel Bruce inside of her, but she felt oddly shy. Geeze, this man was good at tying her up in knots. 

“Of course. I promised,” she shrugged. Bruce’s smile was small and grateful and fuckin’ beautiful, and Jo wished they had the energy to go another round. She sighed as Bruce pulled her farther up his body, separating them, and held her closer. She nuzzled against his hair as he carried her to the elevator and proved all of her theories about Bruce Banner being pretty damned strong all on his own, and she felt…she felt… _happy_.

**.xXx.**

Hulk let his voice fade away once he was sure that Jo was asleep. He’d read _Where The Wild Things Are_ so many times that he had the story perfectly memorized, and Jo was asleep halfway through the second retelling. Hulk lifted his head to look down, and he and Bruce both smiled at Jo’s sleeping form. Hulk was stretched out on the roof, so they could look at the stars while Hulk read the story, and Jo was curled up on his stomach with her head on his chest. Her hair was down and still wet from the shower she took earlier with Bruce, and Hulk gently touched a finger against the soft strands.

 _“Hulk, is something wrong?”_ The big guy was quiet, and Bruce could feel the other half of himself struggling with something inside of their shared mind. 

“I feel…” Hulk let his words die out, because he didn’t know how he felt. It wasn’t something that he understood. It was close to what he felt for Betty, like when they shot at her, but somehow more. It was confusing. 

_“You feel something for Jo. That’s normal, Hulk. She’s been very good to you.”_ Before, Bruce’s voice both annoyed and scared Hulk. Annoyed because Bruce was always out of the dark and always talking, and scared when Bruce tried to fight him and push him back into the dark. Now, Bruce’s voice calmed and settled him. Neither one of them had to go into the dark anymore. 

“Jo is ours.” Bruce’s quiet laugh filled their mind, and Jo stretched out of the ball she was in and rolled onto her back. Still fast asleep with Hulk’s finger touching her hair. 

_“Yes, I guess she is.”_ Her head turned so that Hulk could easily see the fading bruise on her shoulder that wasn’t quite covered by the tank top strap, and Hulk knew the mark was from Bruce. He understood their physical relationship but had no desire for that kind of relationship. He understood but didn’t want. 

**_“We’ll keep her safe and take care of her.”_** Hulk needed the emotional aspects of a relationship, the acceptance and the kindness that came with it. He needed all the things he’d been denied before. 

_“We will.”_ Hulk huffed and looked up at the sky, while Jo slept peacefully. Inside his mind, Bruce went still and looked with him.

**.xXx.**

Tony stepped out onto the roof and looked around, and he shook his head at the scene. One of the giant blue mats from the gym was spread out across the roof with a blanket on it, and Hulk was fast asleep on the makeshift mattress. Jo was stretched out on top of the giant green torso, and Hulk had one hand on her back. They looked peaceful, with nothing but the moonlight highlighting their features. Darcy and Thor caught them all up on the day’s events, and everyone had mixed reactions. Steve had looked protective at the thought of Jo doubting herself, but Maria reassured him that all women are subjected to at least one moment of weakness. Darcy and Thor then told them about the conversation they eavesdropped on, which made Tony feel better. Of course Jo is better for Bruce than anyone, even Betty Ross.

“They look sweet,” Pepper whispered. He could feel the warmth of her cheek pressing against his shoulder, and he reached back to wrap an arm around her waist. Going out to dinner with her, and Steve and Maria, was fun. 

“The Hulk and The Tank. Should turn that into one of those Harlequins Jo loves so much.” Pepper lightly swatted at his chest, and he laughed as he grabbed her slim fingers in his. He pressed a kiss to her knuckles, because he could, and he felt her pulling on him. 

“Let them sleep.”

“Does that mean we can go to bed and not sleep?” After all this time, Pepper still blushes just a little whenever he propositions her. It’s one of the many things he loves about her. 

“Well, you were on your best behavior today. I guess that deserves _some_ kind of reward.” It was said with a smile that made his chest tight, and he smiled back as they moved towards the door of the roof. He looked over his shoulder one last time, saw the sleeping faces of his bodyguard and friend, and followed after Pepper.

**.xXx.**

Jo woke up slowly bathed in warmth with her cheek pressed against her favorite hairy chest. That thought should have been weird, but she’s feeling too good to care. Bruce was warm and solid beneath her sprawled body, and the sun was warm on her back. Wait, the sun…why was the sun on her? Jo stretched as she woke up a little more and let her eyes open, and she felt Bruce’s fingers combing through her hair. As she stretched, she realized that Bruce was just in a pair of Hulk shorts and that they were still on the roof. Huh, she knew she fell asleep on the roof, but she was pretty sure that Hulk was reading to her then.

“Mornin’,” she husked out. Her voice was still sleep rough, but it wasn’t any worse than usual.

“Good morning.”

“I guess Hulk fell asleep too?” She moved her knees onto either side of Bruce’s hips and listened to her spine pop as she straightened. There was something about straddling a nearly naked Bruce on a rooftop that made her feel like today was going to be a good day.

“Mhmm.” Bruce’s hair was sticking up in her favorite porcupine pattern, and she flattened her hands against his stomach to keep from reaching for it. 

“And why aren’t you naked?” Bruce’s smile was wicked as his hands reached up under her tank top to slide across her ribs, and she leaned back into the sensation. 

“Why aren’t you?” Fuck, he looked so relaxed and carefree laying in the sunlight. She could feel him pushing against her, and Jo smiled at the feeling of lazy desire curling in her stomach and tensing her thighs. 

“I’m sure somethin’ can be arranged,” she smiled. Together they worked on stripping off her tank top, and Jo gave a quick roll of her hips before surging to her feet. Bruce made quick work of his shorts, and Jo carefully balanced herself on the blanketed mat as she tugged her pants off. Bruce laughed as she made a show of twirling her pants around her head before sending them flying through the air, and the soft sound of it made her chest feel tight and touched her in all the right places. She was laughing with him as she settled herself on top of him, and his hands reached up to grab her hips as she immediately took him inside. 

“Can we wake up like this every morning?” Bruce’s voice sounded a little strained as Jo lightly moved her hips, and she arched her back so she could brush their lips together. 

“Naked on a rooftop?” She moved down to lick and nip at his neck, and she felt his hands tracing over the curve of her spine.

“Something like that,” he breathed out.

“I’m game if you are,” she mouthed against the shell of his ear. She’d love to wake up like this every morning, with Bruce’s soft laugh and rough hands. Jo’s body moved in slow rolls, and Bruce took his time letting his hands wander all over her body. From her tensing thighs to her blushing cheeks, because she can’t remember ever feeling so exposed. The sun is lighting up everything around them and making her hair stick to her sweaty back, and Bruce is letting her move as slowly as she wants. As gently as she wants, and she can feel something inside of her breaking open.

_“Jo.”_ She let herself fall with a quiet sigh as Bruce gently held her face in his hands, and she collapsed against him to ride out the aftershocks. This man was going to be the death of her, and she was going to love every minute of it. And probably beg for more. Bruce’s arms crossed over her back, one under and one over her hair. His heartbeat was strong and steady against her temple, and Jo just let herself go boneless against him. Bruce could hold her until she pulled herself back together.

“I need eggs,” she huffed out. Bruce shifted under her to run a hand across the top of her head, and Jo peeked up at him. 

“Eggs?”

“With hot sauce. Lots of hot sauce.” Bruce smiled, and Jo leaned up to kiss the underside of his chin. It was the best she could do, since her body was mostly ignoring her for the moment. 

“Let’s go get breakfast.”

After a shared shower, Jo slipped on one of his button-ups and a pair of loose denim shorts before heading downstairs. Bruce needed to check on something in the lab and move the mat back to the gym (the blanket back to his room), so he promised he’d join her soon and then rode the elevator up. There were a few things that he needed to check on, which he did, but he spent most of the next ten minutes talking to JARVIS and setting up reservations for dinner tonight. Their relationship was a little backwards, but Jo deserved a dinner that she didn’t have to cook. (Or supervise while Steve cooked.) They could both use a night out too, and JARVIS knew all the best restaurants in town. Once that was done, he dropped off the mat and blanket in his room. He wanted to see Jo, and there’s plenty of other mats down in the gym. 

The elevator opened on the fifth floor, the floor right under his, and hazel eyes met his as Clint stepped onto the elevator. The assassins must be back from their mission. He pressed the button for the gym, and he’s carrying one of his bows. Looks like one of the ones that Tony’s been working on. Clint shifted a little on his feet, and Bruce lightly pulled on the bottom of his shirt. He’s never heard the archer this quiet, and he can feel Clint looking at him. Just before the elevator stopped at the first floor, Clint pressed the hold button. Bruce could feel his eyes widening, just the tiniest bit, as he looked over at him. 

“Josie’s been my friend nearly a decade now, and I don’t give a flying fuck if you can turn green. Break her heart and I’ll kick your ass. Got it?” Clint’s face was completely serious, and Bruce slowly nodded his head. 

“If I ever hurt her, I won’t turn a single shade as you kick my ass.” Clint’s face stayed neutral for all of two seconds and then he was laughing with his head thrown back. A steady hand slapped against his shoulder, which made Bruce stumble forward just a little, as Clint used his other hand to get the elevator to open. 

“I knew I liked you. Take care of her, Bruce.” He stepped off the elevator and turned to face the archer, who was still smiling. “And you both missed breakfast, so she’s probably in the kitchen. Oh! No kitchen sex! I eat there sometimes!”

Bruce didn’t have time to reply before the elevator doors closed again, and he quickly scrubbed a hand through his hair. That was…strange, but he’s pretty sure that he has Clint’s blessing. He knows that he doesn’t really need anyone’s blessing to date Jo, she’s her own person, but it’s nice to have support. He knows that Tony approves and is happy for them, which is really good since him and Jo are so close. Yesterday showed him that Thor and Darcy are happy about them being together. Clint’s the first one to state it so bluntly though.

Bruce heard the soft music before he reached the kitchen, and he stopped in the doorway to just watch. Jo was standing at the stove, with a bottle of hot sauce sitting next to her, and swaying lightly to the beat. Her wet hair was in the braid he put it in, and he could just see the top of her spine tattoo as her hair moved with the rest of her body. The shirt she was wearing, his shirt, was missing the top few buttons so it hung open just a little. Bruce couldn’t see that from where he was standing, but he had a nice long look before they separated earlier.

_“And opening up has always been the hardest thing, until you came.”_

Bruce’s hands slipped under the loose shirt so he could lightly hold her hips, and Jo leaned back against him as the hand not holding the spatula pressed against one of his. Her hips continued to move in a slow sway as she scrambled eggs, and Bruce’s body was forced to move with hers. He wasn’t a dancer, but he could get used to the way Jo’s body moved against his. He could get used to seeing her in his clothes and the smell of her orange shampoo. Jo raised a fork that Bruce hadn’t noticed earlier, and he bent forward to take the eggs. Jo gently knocked her head against his, shook some hot sauce onto some of the eggs, and took a big bite.

They ate eggs straight from the pan in front of the stove, some with hot sauce and some sprinkled with salt and pepper. Jo shared her giant mug of iced water to help wash their breakfast down, and Bruce couldn’t remember ever doing something like this before. No words were said, because none were needed. Jo was warm and soft where she was pressed against him, and she kept her left hand firmly tangled with his as she fed him with her right. It was a little tricky sometimes, and she held the handle of the fork between her teeth to add in their egg enhancements, but it worked. Throughout it all, she moved gently against him and kept his body moving right along with her as the soft music kept playing. 

_“I’m falling fast, but the truth is that I’m not scared at all. You climbed my walls.”_

Falling…Bruce wasn’t in love with Jo, it was still too soon for that, but he was so close. So close that he probably should be scared, because happiness wasn’t something that he was used to. It was worse after the gamma bomb, but there was always something missing before then too. But Jo…she listened to him talk about his childhood and believed that he deserved happiness. She let his monstrous other half read her bedtime stories and looked at him sometimes like she couldn’t believe he was real. Like she was the lucky one.

_“This feeling, I’m feeling, is something I’ve never known.”_

Even before Hulk, Bruce kept his emotions under control. He’d seen what anger could do to a man, had felt what it could do, and he never wanted to be like that. So he ran and hid metaphorically before learning how to do it literally. He loved Betty…oh, how he loved Betty…but he’d always been afraid of giving too much of himself away. He always held back, but he wasn’t holding back now. He didn’t even know if he could hold back anymore, and he didn’t want to.

_“And I just can’t take my eyes off you.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was a lot of Bruce/Jo in this chapter. Doesn’t it just make you giddy? It makes me giddy, but that could be the eggnog. Don’t drink and fanfic, kids. 
> 
> Okay, I know that General Ross has been promoted to Secretary of State. I’m keeping him as a general for this story, so that SHIELD can have some say-so about who he can go after. Also, Thor is a genius. A giant, genius, ray of sunshine. The little quote at the top of the story doesn’t really have anything to do with the chapter; I saw it on Pinterest and I just thought it was beautiful.
> 
> Song Used: _Can’t Take My Eyes Off You_ by Lady Antebellum 
> 
> So! I hope that everyone liked the chapter, because I really enjoyed writing the progression of Jo and Bruce’s relationship. One last thing, **HAPPY HOLIDAYS!**


	23. Definitely Didn't Expect This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _I did my best_   
>  _It wasn't much_   
>  _I couldn't feel_   
>  _So I tried to touch_   
>  **Hallelujah by Three Talented Girls (Jodi, Alana, & Morgan)**   
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The lyrics at the top of the story come from one of the versions of _Hallelujah_ , because there are many, but that’s the version I like best. [You should click this link and go listen to it.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooZonYCkz-Q)
> 
> Small Warning: lot of violence, kinda graphic

Jo was humming as she walked into Tony’s lab, because today is starting out amazingly. Roof sex? Check. Eggs with hot sauce? Check. A super cute date with her adorable boyfriend tonight? Check! Definitely a good day. The music was already blaring in the lab so Tony and Darcy didn’t notice her, so she snuck up behind Tony on her tiptoes. She met Darcy’s eyes a second before she wrapped her arms around Tony’s neck, and she could hear Darcy laughing over the sound of the music as Tony yelped and struggled to get free. 

“Good mornin’, boss!” she yelled once she let him go. 

“You missed breakfast,” Darcy pointed out. Jo nodded, because she did miss breakfast, but it was worth it just this one time. 

“Won’t happen again, promise,” she said with a smile. She can still see sunlight in Bruce’s hair and feel his hands moving across her slick skin; that’s worth missing Thor’s pancakes for, but not on a regular basis.

“Hey, kiddo, me and your mother need to have a talk. Wanna take a break?” Darcy’s eyes widened as she looked between them, and Jo shrugged. She doesn’t know what Tony wants. She could take a peek and find out, but it’s better if he talks to her in his own time. 

“Sure. I’ll go find Thor. Let me know when you need me,” Darcy said and slowly stood up. She paused in the doorway and looked over her shoulder at them. “No lab sex! Behave yourselves!”

Jo didn’t have the heart to tell the girl that Tony and Pepper had already christened the lab, so she just saluted and watched Darcy leave the room. Once she was gone, Tony spun around on his stool to face her. The smile on his face was wide enough to crinkle the corners of his eyes, and Jo still has her arms wrapped around his neck. He’s moved so that she’s standing between his spread thighs, and she’s missed this. It feels good to just be around him.

“This isn’t one of mine.” He pulled on the blue button-up she was wearing, and she smiled down at him. 

“It’s Bruce’s,” she shrugged. 

“Does that mean my closet is finally all mine again?” Her laugh echoed in the lab as she shook her head, and she could hear Tony laughing along with her. “Well, it was worth a shot.”

“Alright, what do you want to talk about?” His eyes flicked away from her, which isn’t like him, and she felt his hands settling on her hips. 

“Before, before the Extremis and all of that, Pepper and I talked about getting married. We were already making plans, but after…you know.” Even after the Extremis was removed, something still wasn’t right between them. Tony was falling farther into darkness, and Pepper didn’t know how to save him. 

“And now?” She knows where this is going, but he needs to say it. 

“I wanna ask her. Wanted to do it last night, but I couldn’t. I had to talk to you first.” His eyes are pleading up at her, and she looked inside. His whirlwind thoughts were a little calmer than usual, since he’s not focusing on all the science, and she easily picked up his worries. 

“Oh, Tony. You could have ten wives, and I’d still be here. Right here.” She tightened her hold around him just a little, enough to get the point across, because she’s not going anywhere. “That night, when I forced you to open your eyes, I made a decision. To stick by your side until you didn’t need me anymore. I’m not going anywhere unless you tell me to. You got that?”

“Promise?” Tony loves Pepper like he’s never loved anyone else; it’s something overwhelming and beautiful and simple. Tony loves Jo like he’s never loved anyone else; it’s something calming and strong and easy. 

“I promise. I love you too much to leave you. Ask her. I’m pretty sure she’ll say yes,” Jo said with a grin. She hasn’t actively looked inside of Pepper’s head, but she can’t really help picking up surface thoughts sometimes. Pepper’s love for Tony hasn’t dimmed a bit in their time apart, and it’s such a _pure_ love. When Jo does pick up thoughts from Pepper, they’re mostly about Tony. How happy she is just to be near him, to see him happy. 

“You think so?” He’s smiling at her again, and that’s the Tony that she likes to see. Pepper makes him happy, so she’s completely okay with the two of them getting hitched. She also knows that Pepper is okay with how close she is to Tony, because Pepper knows it’s nothing like _that_. Jo has Bruce. 

“I know so. How are you going to do it?” Her fingers are running through his hair, which is greasy, so it’ll have to be washed soon. 

“I thought I’d just drop to a knee the next time I see her. I’ve got the ring in my pocket.”

“Sounds super romantic.” Oddly enough, she means that. Pepper doesn’t like big and flashy things (except for Tony), so something simple is perfect. “I actually mean that too.”

**.xXx.**

“Miss Jo, Master Stark has requested your presence in his lab.” Jo met Darcy’s eyes once JARVIS was done speaking and then she looked down at the sandwich she was working on. Looks like Bruce will have to wait a bit. “He has requested your presence as well, Miss Darcy.”

“What’s he up to now?” Jo thought back to this morning, to her little talk with Tony, and felt her eyes widen. Did he really? 

“Let’s not keep him waiting!” Jo already had a hold on Darcy’s wrist and was pulling her from the room, and she couldn’t stop bouncing on the balls of her feet during the elevator ride. If this is what she thinks, she’s super excited. They’re gonna get to plan a wedding! 

“Okay, what do you know that I don’t?” Darcy asked. The elevator doors opened, and Jo pulled the girl along behind her to Tony’s lab. The music was at a barely audible level, but it was something slow and sweet. Tony was sitting on the couch in the back, and Pepper was sitting next to him. They were both smiling, Pepper had tears clinging to her lashes, and Jo sees something sparkly. 

“She said yes!” Tony yelled as soon as he saw them. 

“Holy shit, he proposed,” Darcy whispered. 

“He proposed!” Jo yelled and started to jump up and down. The excitement must have been contagious, because Darcy joined her. 

“Shouldn’t I be the one jumping up and down?” Tony asked. 

“I think it’s supposed to be me,” Pepper said with a little laugh. Darcy met her eyes, and they moved at the same time. Darcy grabbed Tony while Jo grabbed Pepper, and they formed a little jumping circle. 

“Okay, no more jumping,” Tony said and came to a standstill. Pepper stopped along with him, so Jo and Darcy stopped too. 

“Let’s see the ring. It better be big,” Darcy said and smiled over at Pepper. The ring was pretty good sized and elegant, and Jo smiled at the literal symbol of Tony and Pepper’s love. She’s gonna start crying in a minute. 

“I’m so happy for you two!” She wrapped one arm around Tony’s neck and the other around Pepper’s, and she pulled both of them to her. 

“Thank you, Jo,” Pepper whispered. Jo knows that Pepper is thanking her for more than just her jumping congratulations; she’s thanking her for making this possible, because Pepper knows that Tony asked her first. Huh. Pepper really is the genius of the two of them. 

“Well, I guess we’ll leave the two of you alone. Right, Jo?” She blinked and looked over at Darcy, who is smiling in a very mischievous way. Right. They should go. 

“Yeah, I gotta bring Bruce’s lunch up. See you later!” She ruffled Tony’s dirty hair and smiled at Pepper, and she followed Darcy out of the lab. 

“Wow, so they are really gonna do it,” Darcy said once they were back in the elevator. 

“Yup.”

“And you’re going on a date with Bruce tonight.”

“Yup.”

“You know I’m helping you get ready, right? It’s your first date, so you gotta look good. Please tell me you actually own a dress.”

“Yup.”

“So, now that Tony is marrying Pepper and you’re dating Bruce, do I get two Christmases?”

“Nope.”

**.xXx.**

“I’m really happy for you,” Bruce said as he and Tony watched the other three men of the house talk about wedding traditions. Tony had walked into Bruce’s room, with the three others behind him, and waited until they were gathered together to give the big news. Tony proposed, and Pepper said yes. That explains why Jo was so happy earlier; she’d giggled so much throughout their lunch and even Hulk could tell how excited she was during story time. She didn’t fall asleep this time.

“I still can’t believe she said yes.” Tony was looking down at the floor, but Bruce could see the smile on his face. “Now, enough about me! Bruce has a date so we have to get him ready!”

“Ready for a date with Josie? There’s no such thing; she’s gonna eat you alive,” Clint called out with a laugh. Steve sent the archer a stern look, and Clint did his best to look chagrined.

“Tonight will be a joyous occasion!” Bruce smiled up at Thor and shifted on his feet a little. He definitely wasn’t expecting this when he asked Jo out on a date. 

“You better have something good in your closet.” Tony slapped him on the back and walked into Bruce’s closet, and Clint followed in after him. Definitely didn’t expect this.

**.xXx.**

“This is ridiculous. Bruce and I have already seen each other naked, so why does it matter which dress I wear?”

"Because it’s your first date. It’s special,” Darcy said with a strong duh in her tone. 

“She’s right. You can’t wear your usual ratty clothes,” Natasha added. She had no idea that the assassin disliked her wardrobe that much; if she dresses better, will Natasha stop shooting her?

“Do you already have the perfect dress picked out?” Maria asked Pepper. Jo and Darcy had stared the woman down until she announced the engagement to Maria and Natasha, because Jo knows that Tony is going to tell the guys. 

“I have a few options that I’ve looked at,” Pepper said with a slight blush. It’s adorable how shy Pepper can be sometimes. Maria and Pepper talked about color schemes while Natasha and Darcy combed through her closet, and Jo was stuck somewhere in the middle. Agreeing that eggshell blue was a pretty color and dodging fabric that kept getting tossed out of the closet. 

“Found it!” Darcy yelled and tumbled out of the closet. Jo looked at the dress Darcy was holding up, and she could see Natasha smiling over her shoulder. She’d already showered, so all she had to do was slip the dress on. She took it from Darcy’s arms and slipped into the bathroom, and she quickly shimmied out of the denim shorts and button-up she was still wearing. The dress slid on easily, and Jo took a moment to look in the mirror. 

Jo remembers buying the dress. At the time, she couldn’t think of a reason why she’d ever wear it, but she loved it and bought it anyway. It was a plain black and fit against her without being too tight or loose, and the single strap around her neck kept her arms bare. The dress was backless, and the material hugged just under the small of her back so that the majority of her spine tattoo showed. A bow was tied at the back as well, like her ass was a gift to the world. She was still just looking into the mirror when Darcy came in, and Natasha was right behind her with a pair of simple black flats. 

“Sit. I’ll do your hair.” Natasha’s tone didn’t leave any room for arguments, so Jo sat on the little bench that was in front of her vanity. 

“Are we thinking up-do?” Jo heard Maria ask. Natasha hummed, and the two agents started pulling on her hair. Not enough to hurt, but enough to let her know that there were two pairs of hands in her hair. 

“Light makeup?” Darcy asked Pepper, not Jo. 

“Something simple,” Pepper agreed. 

When they were done, Jo’s hair was in a delicate looking up-do instead of its usual bun and she only had on a little bit of eye makeup. Pepper also brought in a pair of gorgeous black teardrop earrings, and they’re not Jo’s so they have to be Pepper’s. They let her look in the mirror when she was all done, and she almost felt like crying. Natasha and Maria doing a wonderful job on her hair, Darcy’s insistence that she look perfect, and Pepper letting her borrow some of her earrings were a deadly combination. But she’s not going to cry. She thanked each of them, but they all shrugged it off. One day, she’ll repay all of them for this.

**.xXx.**

Bruce was waiting in front of the front door, flanked by the other men. Tony and Steve were on his right, and Clint and Thor were on his left. They’d agreed on his outfit for the night, without his input, and Tony had even put some stuff in his hair to keep the curls contained. Then they’d each given him advice for the night. What to order and what not to order (anything with garlic). Good dinner conversations. Topics to stay away from. Don’t forget to pull out her chair for her. It was a little surreal, to be honest. He’d gotten ready for his first date with Betty on his own, and the date had been fine. Still, it was a good feeling to know that he was supported.

“Oh, and don’t make a comment about how much she eats. Because Jo can really pack it away,” Clint laughed. 

“And don’t forget to compliment her,” Steve added. 

“And don’t be a perfect gentleman. That’s boring,” Tony said. 

“You need only be yourself, Bruce, for Jo has already chosen you,” Thor told him right as the elevator doors opened. He couldn’t see Jo, because the women of the house were walking in front of her. Natasha and Darcy moved to the left while Pepper and Maria moved to the right, and he saw _her_. Her hair was held up to show the slopes of her neck, and the black dress she was wearing fit against her perfectly. The guys moved out of the way as she walked to his side, and he offered her his arm. Steve held the door open for them, and they both paused on the front step and listened as the door closed.

**.xXx.**

Jo could feel her nerves building in the elevator, and she did her best to squash them down. She’s just going on a date with Bruce, so there’s nothing to be worried about. They’ve shared emotional stories, had sex, and she fed the man eggs just this morning! She shouldn’t feel his nervous. She’s Jo Holbrook! She’s the Tank! And her knees are not knocking together! She squared her shoulders as the elevator came to a stop, and her chin lifted as she walked behind the rest of the girls. They were halfway across the foyer when she felt the warm press of Bruce’s mind, and she was suddenly hit with the urge to push the girls aside so that she could just see him already.

Her eyes immediately sought him out when the girls finally moved, and she had to clench her hands into fists to keep from running to him. Tony and Clint will never let her live it down if she tackles him before they can even get out the front door. Come to think of it, the girls would never let her forget it either. It’s just…he looks _so good_. His black pants looked perfectly tailored to his body, and he had a dark purple shirt tucked into them. No jacket. Still, the _shirt_. Something as simple as a purple button-up shirt should not raise her pulse like it. Knowing that doesn’t make her stop thinking about slowly unbuttoning it (because this shirt will not be ruined like the last one) and then licking every inch of revealed skin. 

The guys stepped away from him as she got closer, and she could barely register the smiles on their faces. She was too busy trying to devour Bruce with her eyes. He offered his arm, like a perfect gentleman, and Jo slipped her arm through his. Steve opened the front door for them, and he gave her a little wink as they stepped outside. The door shut behind them as they stood on the top step, and they both turned to look at each other. 

“You look…”

“Beautiful,” Bruce finished for her. Her smile felt like something permanent, and she wants to relive this feeling over and over for the rest of her life. Her other hand came up to brush against his arm, and she tilted her head just the tiniest bit. 

“I was gonna go with fuckalicious, but beautiful works too.” She couldn’t have stopped her hand if she tried, which she didn’t, as her fingers smoothed over his chest. Do they really have to eat? They got all dressed up; that’s close enough to a date, right?

“Ready to go?”

“After you,” she smiled. Jo reluctantly let her hand fall so that she just had one arm linked with his, and Bruce started down the stairs. The front gate opened easily, and Jo raised a brow at Bruce when she noticed the car waiting for them. 

“It was Tony’s idea,” he said with a slight blush on his cheeks. There is no way she’s getting through dinner without jumping him. It’s just not physically possible. 

“He’s full of good ideas,” she mumbled as Bruce held the door open for her. She brushed past him to step inside, resisted the urge to lick the dip between his collarbones, and nearly collapsed against the soft seat. She was so hyperaware of Bruce that she didn’t pay attention to the drive, so she was a little surprised when the car stopped. She wasn’t sure how far they went or for how long, but she memorized the texture of Bruce’s knuckles and got a little drunk on the smell of his aftershave. 

Jo held onto Bruce’s hand with both of hers as he led them into the restaurant, because she was scared of just where her free hand might wander. She had a feeling that Bruce wouldn’t be too happy if she tried to strip him on the sidewalk. Not that the idea wasn’t still tempting. They didn’t have to wait to be seated, which Jo thought was amazing. Most places made you wait at least a little bit, even with a reservation. Did JARVIS or Tony make the reservation? They’re kinda fused so either one is possible, and she’s betting that whoever got them a reserved table dropped the Stark name. Either way, she’s happy. The table they were seated at was a few floors up and on a private balcony, and Jo might have blushed when Bruce pulled out her chair for her. 

“We’ll be right out with your meal,” the waitress said as she poured them each a glass of wine. Jo waited until the woman walked away before looking at Bruce, and he looked just as confused as she felt. Jo was pretty sure that ordering came first, unless…

“Tony,” they said together. The man has serious control issues sometimes, but she can’t get mad at him for this. She’ll probably wind up thanking him.

“I think Tony might be a closet romantic,” Jo laughed. 

“At least he didn’t dress you.” Jo was thankful for the private seating as her loud laugh sounded in the air around them, and she felt Bruce’s foot nudge against her own. Despite all the open space, the round table was pretty small. Jo wasn’t gonna complain because it means she was just that much closer. The laughing died down as their waitress returned with a giant tray in her hands, and Jo watched as the woman started arranging everything on their table. A giant plate of food was placed in the center of the table, they were given silverware wrapped in a napkin, and the bottle of wine was placed next to the plate. 

“If you need anything, press this and I’ll be right with you.” She set down a small circular object that looked like a coaster to Jo, with a single button in the center of it. Huh, so no interruptions or anything. That’s pretty awesome. 

“Mmm, pasta. Is that shrimp?” Jo and Bruce clinked forks and then dove into their shared meal. Tony’s definitely a closet romantic; he got them a shared pasta dinner and everything. 

They were quiet while they ate, sometimes catching each other’s eye and smiling softly. After a few bites and two glasses of delicious wine, they loosened up. Jo had her shoes kicked off and her feet resting on Bruce’s chair, and he had one hand resting lightly on top of her foot. They kept the conversation light, to start with. Bruce asked about the tattoo on her back, so she explained how the design came from one of her Ma’s paintings. Her ma was an art teacher, so Jo wanted something of her ma with her at all times. It was nice talking about her ma with someone that really listened, and Jo felt all warm inside when Bruce even told her a few things about his own mother. She knew talking about her wasn’t easy for Bruce, so the stories were even more special. Like how she loved James Dean movies and played in the rain with him. 

“You can ask, if you want to.” They’ve been quiet for a few beats, and they were both so relaxed that picking up on Bruce’s thoughts was easy. Lips were just starting to part when their waitress returned with another large tray, and she smoothly picked up their empty pasta plate and sat the other one down before walking off. Jo licked her lips at the sight of the chocolate cake and quickly picked up her fork again. 

“Wouldn’t it be rude?” Bruce asked once they’d each taken a bite. 

“We’re in it for the long haul, so it makes sense to be curious. That, and talking about him doesn’t hurt. We ended things peacefully. It goes both ways though,” Jo said with a thoughtful look. Then she shoveled in another bite of cake and tried not to moan at the wonderful taste. 

“Sounds fair enough.” His fingers were lightly tracing shapes on her bare shin, and she wiggled her toes against his thigh. Maybe she can take his shirt off with just her toes? That’s something she’s never tried. 

“I didn’t date as a teenager. Being a teenager is hard, but being a teenager in a mutant school? It was fuckin’ ridiculous. After I graduated, I thought I’d go on an adventure and fall madly in love with some exotic stranger. Instead, I traveled in the US for a little over two months before ROSE got me. When I got out, dating was the last thing on my mind. I was a bit angry for a while, and SHIELD used that. A few months after I got free, they sent me on a mission to Greenland with Johnny Storm of all people. It was undercover and we were newlyweds, and somewhere along the way the acting became real. I was angry and scared, and he could make me laugh. As for him, he was tired of being lonely and wanted to be with someone more like him. Someone who could handle the heat. His words, not mine,” Jo smiled. Those early years after being saved were not pleasant memories, but there were moments when she knew that things would work out. Like when Johnny made her laugh during sex and Clint took her dancing in warehouses. 

“What went wrong?” She knew Bruce would never judge her, but she still fidgeted a little in her seat. 

“Sometimes love isn’t enough, and we were kinda using each other. I needed a distraction, and he just needed someone. We separated as friends, so at least there’s that. He’s still the first guy I ever loved, and how many girls can say they held onto Johnny Storm for over a year?” Jo knows that Johnny has been with a lot of women, it’s that cocky charm of his, and she’s been in a lot of cat fights over the years for him. She can’t stand it when women sleep with him just because of who he is and for the sake of saying that they bedded the famous Johnny Storm. Jo’s not jealous or anything, but those are not good reasons for sleeping with someone. Mutual attraction, that’s the way to go. “Alright, Doc, ‘fess up.”

“You haven’t been with anyone since then?” Bruce looks confused, but it’s the truth. Her only other relationship was with Johnny Storm, and it’s so completely different from what she has with Bruce that she doesn’t think she can compare the two. 

“Not for longer than a night, and there’s been very few of those. I’m guessing Betty was the first?” Bruce shyly met her eyes as he nodded and wrung his hands together. Jo wiggled her foot, and he moved one hand down to wrap around her ankle.

“We met in college, freshman year. We were dating before Halloween; being with her was natural and easy. Then we both went through graduate school and started working on the gamma bomb, and you know the rest,” Bruce said quietly. 

“She’s the only one? You never fell for some beauty during your travels?” Jo’s smile was gentle, but she already knows the answer. She doesn’t have to read Bruce’s mind to know the answer either; it’s written all across his face. 

“No, I was too scared to talk to anyone, much less do anything else. There were a few times, but they were always controlled and careful. And never twice.”

“Good. That means I won’t have to fight off anymore exes.” It was said with a teasing smile, and Bruce circled his finger over the top of her foot. 

“Yeah? How many would you fight off?” Bruce’s eyes were lighter now, and he looked a little more relaxed. Maybe they should’ve had the dreaded exes talk last week. 

“For you? Hmm…”

“Trying to decide when to give up?”

“Trying to remember how many people are in the world, because I’ll fight them all.” Jo felt her thighs tingling as Bruce’s cheeks were dusted with a light pink, and she had to remind herself that crawling across a table was bad manners. What about crawling under? Crawling under couldn’t be _that_ bad, right? She was trying to weigh the risks versus the rewards when there was a tiny click, and she was groaning before a voice echoed in her ear. The rewards had been winning.

“Avengers! Vector and Ironclad are in Harlem! Hurry it up and get your asses out there!” Jo rubbed a hand over her ringing ear, because Fury’s yell can break sound barriers. 

“We’re closer,” Bruce said. Yeah, she figured that. Jo was already putting her flats back on and mourning her dress, because clothes never survive fights. She reached up to her comm and heard a tiny click, so she knows that she’s linked to JARVIS and that Tony will hear her. 

“Hulk and I are on the way to Harlem. Meet us there.”

“You got it, sweetheart.” There was a pause as she stood up and then she heard Tony’s voice again. “Be careful, Jo.”

“I’m always careful. Ready, Bruce?”

“I’ll get the check.” The waitress was there just moments after pressing the little button on the coaster, and they were both reassured that the check was already taken care of. 

“Miss? Do you think you could hold a few things for us?” The waitress blinked at her, and Jo just waited. 

“Yes, of course. What would you like us to hold?” Jo quickly reached up to pull on her earrings, the teardrops not the comm, because there’s no way she’s losing these. Or having them ripped out. Pepper let her borrow them, and she’s going to make sure that they’re returned.

“Just these, and his shirt.”

“What?” Jo looked over to meet Bruce’s eyes, and she did her best to keep a serious face on. 

“You are not ripping that shirt, Doc, so take it off. Or I will.” Bruce cocked an eyebrow and did as she said, and Jo tried not to laugh at the blush darkening their waitress’s cheeks as Bruce slipped his pants off too. He’s wearing a pair of Hulk shorts, that’s good. Jo waited until the waitress was holding her earrings and Bruce’s clothes before looking at Bruce and then over at the balcony. They’re in a hurry, and who needs a front door when there’s a balcony?

“I don’t really like Harlem,” Bruce said quietly once they reached the rail. The waitress was still staring at them, but Jo blocked the woman’s very loud thoughts. Oh yeah, her Doc definitely looks good shirtless. 

“This time will be different. Let’s just get this over with, and I’ll see you after.” Jo grabbed a handful of his hair, pressed a hard kiss against his lips, and jumped over the rail. When she looked beside her, Hulk was grinning down at her. One large hand scooped her up, and they were off. 

“Alright, big guy, I’m gonna need you to take Vector,” she said as they got closer to Harlem. She can already hear sirens in the not-so-distant distance. 

“I want the tin man,” Hulk growled. 

“I know he pissed you off last time, but I’m not strong enough to take the leader. Even Thor had problems with that guy, so I know I can’t fight him. I’ll keep Ironclad busy until the others get here. We need to get the leader, for sure this time.” Hulk huffed, but Jo knew he understood. Jo’s the first person to boast about how strong she is, but she knows that she’s far from the strongest out there. Ironclad is strong enough to stand against Hulk and escape, so there’s no way she’s going to be able to defeat him. Her goal is to just hold on long enough for the others to show up.

“I’ll win,” Hulk said right as they reached the destruction. 

“My Hulkster always does,” she whispered as she thrown into the air. Her body slammed into an iron one, and they both went sprawling from the force of the collision. Jo rolled to her feet while her opponent lumbered to his, and they both held their ground to stare each other down. It’s proper fighting etiquette. Thou shalt stare menacingly before battle commencement. 

“They sent you to fight me? What can you do?” Ah, before battling, there shall be smack talk!

“I kicked X-Ray’s ass,” Jo shrugged. Steve helped, but still. She’s counting it. 

“He’s an idiot, and I’m much stronger.” The iron face shifted in a smile, and Jo rolled her shoulders. She’s in a loose dress and has her hair in a fancy up-do; getting her ass kicked by an asshole was not how she wanted to end her night. 

“Oh yeah? You just look like a Colossus knock-off to me,” Jo said with a shit-eating grin. The man’s face scrunched up in his anger, and Jo prepared herself for the first hit. 

Once the fight started in earnest, she lost sight of Hulk. She was too busy ducking iron fists and delivering a few heavy hits of her own. Her skin is tougher than humans’, along with her bones and other various organs. It takes a little something extra to hurt her, especially when her body is prepared for a fight. She’s stronger than most humans too, but punching iron will never be like punching cotton. With the way her adrenaline is pumping right now too, her body is speeding up the regeneration process. Bruises that normally take a day to heal are disappearing immediately, and deep cuts that normally close up and fade in stages are vanishing almost instantly. That sounds good, in theory, but it’s really not. The faster she heals, the more tired she gets. Her body is trying to shut down so it can focus only on healing, but she can’t stop fighting yet. All because this fucker is relentless. 

“Is this the best you can do, _Eris_! I thought you were the mutant of chaos!” Jo glared up at the iron asshole hovering above her and raised her pristine knuckles. (Her knuckles should be stripped to the bone or at least bruised, but they’re not…and, oh fuck, it’s getting harder to stand up straight.)

“Very original! I can see why you picked the name Ironclad now!”

“If I kill you, will they send someone stronger?!”

“Only one way to find out!” Jo caught the smirk on his face before he dropped to the ground and flattened her body under his. She might have screamed as the asphalt tore at her back and broke all around her, and she felt her ribs and sternum splintering under the iron fucking mountain perched on top of her. She could taste blood coating the inside of her throat, and her pelvic bone snapped under an iron foot as he got to his feet. This time she did hear her own scream mixed in with Ironclad’s rough laugh. 

“There’s one last thing you need to see before you die.” Strong fingers wrapped around her throat and hoisted her into the air, and Ironclad held her out away from his body with her feet dangling in the air. Her rapidly bruising throat struggled to catch a breath while her healing tried to kick in; the more damaged she was, the slower the healing came. Until she eventually passed out and was left to heal completely. Or died. 

“Can you still see? Watch your partner die.” Jo stopped trying to breathe and opened her eyes. She could see Vector farther out, with energy blasts aimed right at Hulk. Vector has the ability to repel matter and right now, he’s using that ability to repel Hulk’s skin. Hulk, who’s still fighting his way to reach Vector even though his skin is being flayed off. 

“ ** _HULK!_** ” Jo’s scream was nearly drowned out under the sound of Hulk’s loud growls, and she struggled against the hold on her throat as more green skin was ripped off to show the muscles underneath. Hulk couldn’t take that kind of abuse…that kind of torture. 

“That ugly green bastard’s gettin’ what’s been comin’ to him,” Ironclad whispered behind her. Jo swung her legs back into his face and winced as she dropped to the ground. The pain could be dealt with later; she’s gotta stop Vector. Hulk was showing more muscle than skin now, and she’s not going to watch him die. 

She was almost to Vector when a powerful fist hit the center of her back, and her legs collapsed as her spine broke. Her head knocked against the concrete, at just the right angle to watch Hulk nearly crawl his way towards Vector. His giant hands, showing pieces of bone, dug deep into the ground as he pulled himself forward. A sob worked its way out of Jo’s rough throat at seeing Hulk’s skin completely flayed off, but she couldn’t do anything. She couldn’t do _anything_. It was like the Zodiac attack all over again, but she could actually see the damage as it was happening this time. A hard foot dug into the broken part of her spine, keeping it from starting the healing process, but Jo didn’t take her eyes off Hulk. Not for a second. Not even when he soared to his feet and planted two massive fists in Vector’s body. The leader flew headfirst into a building, made a good-sized crater, and fell to the ground. He didn’t get up, and Jo’s eyes were locked on Hulk. 

“How did he…?” The foot pressed harder into her spine, but Jo couldn’t feel anything anymore. Hulk tipped his head back as he roared, and the sound vibrated in Jo’s ears. Wide eyes watched as skin formed across his body, until he was whole again. He’s gonna be okay. 

“Because Hulkster always wins,” Jo heard herself whisper. Her body was fighting to repair all of her broken bones along with the internal damage, but she’s already used up too much energy. This isn’t a spar where she regenerates at a slow and steady pace, so she doesn’t get so drained. This is an actual fight, and her body can’t keep up anymore. 

“Jo!” The foot was removed from her back as Thor and Ironclad went rolling away from her, but she was still looking at Hulk. Who was now looking back at her with rage darkening his face. She knew it was Tony that called out to her, but she couldn’t look for him. 

“I’m okay, big guy. Just a little roughed up,” she groaned out. Holy fuck, but everything hurt. She’s not going to die, but she’s going to feel this for a while. The big healing energy has run out and is just focusing on keeping her alive. After she passes out, the healing process should pick up again. 

“Can I kill him?” Hulk asked. The big guy was kneeling in front of her now, and she could hear shouts coming from all over the place. So SHIELD was here, finally. Why does everyone always show up _after_ everything’s gone critical?

“Nah, let’s let ‘em suffer in a super prison for all eternity.” Hulk was okay, he was talking to her, but all she could see was his skin evaporating off his muscles. A big green hand gently, so gently, picked her up and cradled her in the crook of his arm. One side of her body was pressed against the wall of his chest, and Jo struggled to press a hand against the green skin. Whole. Hulk was whole. He was okay. 

“What the hell just happened?!” Jo blinked Director Fury into focus and shook with the sound of Hulk’s growl. 

“We have Vector, sir, and Thor has subdued Ironclad.” Looks like Agent Hill is back where she belongs; Jo hopes she comes to visit. 

“Are you gonna live?” Director Fury was looking at her now, but shouldn’t he be looking at Hulk? That’s when it hit her. Only her and the two U-Foes saw Hulk surviving his skin being ripped off. 

“If you’re asking if I need medical, the answer is no. My healing is a little held up at the moment, but I’ll be fine.” Well, she’d be fine once her spine stopped taking its sweet time knitting back together. Most of her ribs were whole again, but her pelvis still felt a little off. 

“Jo needs rest,” Hulk said quietly. 

“And clothes,” Director Fury said and gave a loud whistle. An agent appeared almost immediately and passed over a giant blanket. Hulk managed to grab it and wrap it around her without jostling her around, which Jo was very thankful for. 

“I expect a full report, from both of you, tomorrow.” Jo watched him stride off to start directing the clean-up, and she looked up at Hulk. 

“Jo! You okay?” Tony asked. He’s in the suit, but the face plate is up so that she can see his worried eyes. It’s a good thing the blanket is covering up her still visible injuries and the many tears in her dress. 

“You fought bravely and need to rest,” Thor added. Hulk’s growl was more of a quiet rumble now, and Jo lightly patted his chest. And then left her hand there, just so she could feel that he had skin. 

“I am feelin’ a little beat. Thanks for getting Ironclad for me.”

“It was my pleasure.” Thor’s smile really is like sunshine, but she’s still hurting too much to appreciate it. 

“The others?” Jo asked. She can feel Tony’s assessing gaze on her, but she’s not about to tell him that her spine is still broken. 

“The assassins are at the house, with Darcy and Pepper. Steve is helping Maria with the prisoners. Now, are you two gonna be okay?” Tony’s looking back and forth between the both of them, and it’s almost like he _knows_. 

“We’re both fine. Are you gonna help with the clean-up?” Tony smiled at her, just a small twitch of his lips, and he looked over at Thor. 

“Yeah, we’ll clean up your mess. See you at home?” She smiled and nodded, and she watched as Tony and Thor moved off to join the mass of running agents. 

“Let’s go home, big guy,” Jo said quietly. Hulk secured his hold on her and started walking off. Jo expected him to run, but he didn’t want to hurt her. The thought was so sweet that she almost started crying, but she managed to hold back. Honestly, she feels a little numb. Like she’s in shock. Jo’s sternum fused back together with a flash of heat a few moments later, and she barked out a rough scream at the feeling. Huh, that must have been a worse break than she realized. She could also breathe a little easier, so her lung damage has also been repaired. 

“Are you okay?” Bright green eyes were staring down at her, and Jo rubbed small circles against his massive chest. Fuck, she couldn’t stop touching him. It felt like if she stopped touching him, his skin would disappear again. 

“I’m okay, just healing. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I won.” Jo pressed her forehead against his chest and tried to calm her breathing. Maybe the shock is starting to wear off?

“You could have died. I saw what happened, _your skin_ ,” Jo moaned. Hulk’s grip tightened to a point just shy of painful, and Jo pressed her forehead harder against him. Like she wanted to crawl inside and hold his skin on with her bare hands. It didn’t make any sense, but she couldn’t breathe right and her eyes were burning. 

“I’m fine. It hurt, but I’m stronger than him,” Hulk huffed. Jo listened to the sound of the gate opening and closing, and she sighed in relief once they were inside the mansion. No one can hurt them inside the mansion; Tony’s paranoia made sure of that. Hulk shifted into Bruce just as Clint and Darcy came out of the kitchen, and Pepper and Natasha were right behind them. Bruce was quick to reassure them that everyone was okay; he told them that they were okay, just tired. Jo smiled along and prayed that nothing major healed while she was putting up the everything’s-okay façade. 

Ten minutes later, they were in Bruce’s room. He gently laid Jo down at the foot of the bed, because her spine still hasn’t been fully repaired. Bruce’s eyes met hers, and Jo felt the first tear slip from her eye. It was followed by more, many more, until she was sobbing so hard that the mattress shook under her. Familiar rough hands parted the blanket to grab her arms and pull her up, and she curled into Bruce’s chest as much as she could without using her legs. 

“Fuck, Bruce, your _skin_.” Jo was shaking everywhere she had mobility, and she couldn’t stop fucking crying. All she could see were the bones of Hulk’s hands as they dug into the ground, the strong muscles exposed to the open air, his face stripped bare and the sharp jut of a jawbone as he roared. 

“I know, but we’re okay now. We’re okay, we’re here,” Bruce murmured into her hair. She knew that he was okay, but those images just wouldn’t go away. Jo’s fingers pressed into his skin hard enough to leave bruises just to feel it even as she cried onto the skin of his chest. Once the sobbing died down, Bruce carried her into the bathroom and gently stripped her ruined dress off. He had to hold her up until halfway through the shower, when her spine finally blazed and reconnected her spinal cord. Her legs were shaky, but they managed to stay unbroken during the fight and held her easily enough. Still, she made sure they were touching at all times. 

“I’m sorry, but I can’t…stop.” Her fingers roughly brushed her cheeks, but the tears just kept coming. It was like a never ending faucet, constantly dripping. They dried off with the same towel, and Bruce kept a hand on her hip as she roughly dried her hair with a giant towel. When he made a move to grab some pajamas, Jo grabbed his hand and tried to think of a way to ask what she wanted. In the end, Bruce must have understood what she was too embarrassed to say out loud and led her over to the bed. They burrowed under the blankets naked, and Jo pressed herself completely against him. She needed to feel his skin against hers, and as much of it as possible. After they were settled, Jo was spread across him like an extra blanket and still leaking tears. 

“It’s going to be okay, Jo.”

“I know.” It wasn’t going to be okay, because she could still see and she couldn’t stop _crying_. She’s seen a lot of injuries and a lot of sick shit over the years, but she cares about Hulk and had to watch as he was flayed alive without being able to do anything about it. No, it’s not okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So much happened in this chapter that I barely know where to begin. Who’s excited for Tony and Pepper? Because I am! I didn’t get to write a wedding in the last story, so I’m looking forward to writing one this time around. Also, Jo and Bruce went on a date! The rest of the night wasn’t so good, but I think the date went pretty well. 
> 
> Now, about the U-Foes. I wish I could take credit for that fight scene, but I can’t. I’m not really sure which issue it came from, but Hulk and Vector did fight in the comics. [Here's Hulk VS Vector Page 1](http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/b529/IronBat/ARCHAIC/Hulk%20amp%20Vector%201_zpsr46pbjkn.jpg) and [Hulk VS Vector Page 2](http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/b529/IronBat/ARCHAIC/Hulk%20amp%20Vector%202_zpsk1bbmufz.jpg). 
> 
> I’d love to know everyone’s thoughts on this chapter! Thanks again for reading!


	24. We're Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _atelophobia_   
>  _the fear of not being good enough_   
> 

_Oh, fuck…it was happening all over again. Hulk’s roar sounded more like a scream as the skin was torn off him in strips, but Jo wasn’t pressed against the hard ground this time. She was standing and hands were holding onto her shoulders. It wasn’t even a tight hold; it was just a light grip. Someone was breathing against her ear, and Hulk was_ screaming.

_“You screamed worse than that with only a little skin removed.” A hand moved to press against her abdomen, where said-skin had been surgically ripped away. “You would not have survived that, Josephine.”_

_“You’re not real, Serrens. You’re locked up where you can’t hurt anyone anymore.” None of the ROSE doctors were in the Cube or Big House, so they’re not free. If Serrens wasn’t real, then neither was Hulk’s scream._

_“What have I told you about that **sound**?!” It wasn’t Vector that was controlling the blasts, it was Rickard. Rickard’s twisted face as he tortured all the sound away and started picking at the exposed muscles to reveal the bones beneath._

_**“NO!”** Jo was struggling against a grip that wasn’t physically strong enough to hold her back when everything changed. The hands disappeared, and her knees hit the snowy ground. The street was gone, Rickard and Serrens were gone, and she couldn’t see Hulk. _

_The cold was seeping into her skin without freezing her, because this wasn’t her nightmare. She looked around her and saw a kneeling figure, and she slowly started to crawl to his side. It was Bruce, it had to be Bruce, but she didn’t know what was happening. She was almost to his side when she saw his hands. They weren’t resting in his lap like she thought; he was holding a gun and sliding his fingers across the barrel. He was alone, so why did he have a gun? Why was he on what had to be a mountain? Nothing was making any sense._

_“Bruce?”_

_“I’ve killed people. I hacked the files from Ross’s database. I’ve seen their faces, their families.” Bruce’s words were said with light puffs into the cold air, and Jo was stuck in place. She was almost within reaching distance, but she felt like she was an ocean away._

_“You didn’t mean to. It was an accident.” Jo knew that Hulk never meant to kill anyone, because Hulk was ultimately **good**._

_“One was a soldier. His little boy isn’t even a year old. He’s never going to know his father, because of me. In Harlem, there was a little girl. She was only four, and I—” His words were choked off, and Jo felt her chest constricting. With Bruce’s help, she could see a picture of a smiling little girl with big blue eyes. She could see several faces, young and old, all dead._

_“Bruce, it’s going to be okay.” It was what he said to her. He was sobbing without tears, but his hands were steady. Jo wanted to reach for him, to try and soothe him, but she couldn’t move. She could feel it now…the pain that was so wrapped around him that nothing else existed. She couldn’t even hear Hulk because he was buried under the darkness._

_“I never wanted to be a monster. I just wanted to be_ good _,” Bruce sighed. Jo opened her mouth to tell him that he was good, he was a hero, when he raised the gun. His teeth locked around the barrel, and Jo’s lungs stopped working. His eyes were open when he squeezed the trigger, and Jo cried out as the gun fired. Hulk tore himself from Bruce’s mind with a scream, and Jo felt herself falling as Hulk roared his anguish at the sky._

__

**.xXx.**

Jo could still hear Hulk roaring as she was jolted back into consciousness, because she was laying on his stomach as he thrashed in his sleep. She tangled a sheet around her naked body as she moved up onto his chest and locked her hands on his cheeks. She yelled his name as she grabbed his shoulders to shake him, and she almost cried from sheer relief when his eyes popped open. They were wide and panicked, and she smoothed a hand across his face. Her body rose and fell with his rapid breathing, and she made soft cooing noises.

“Shh, Hulk, you’re okay now.” She was getting sick and tired of hearing those words, and of saying them. Hulk nodded, and she felt him quickly retreating. She was lowered down until she was nearly straddling Bruce’s chest, and this time it was wide brown eyes looking at her. 

“Jo?” _Bruce was kneeling in the snow, shaking, with his teeth against the barrel._

“Oh, fuck.” Jo staggered to the bathroom and hit her knees just in time to empty her stomach into the toilet, and she clutched her sheet tighter as she puked up everything she’d ever eaten. She was pretty sure she saw the sticky blue glue she ate in first grade on a dare, and her body fell into a slump when it was finally over. 

“Jo?” Spine straightening, she pulled herself into some semblance of “up” and looked over at the doorway. Bruce had a pair of pajama pants hanging low on his hips and his hair sticking up everywhere, but Jo’s eyes were locked on his. 

“You tried to kill yourself, and Hulk.” Her voice wasn’t accusing; it was just…sad. So fucking sad, because she could still feel how Bruce felt on that mountainside. 

“I was in a very low place.” Bruce’s voice was faint, like he was scared of her reaction. 

“You were so defeated, and Hulk was so…”

“Angry,” Bruce finished. Jo’s head snapped up, and she just stared at him. 

“No, scared. He was so scared, because you had him pushed so far into the darkness and you tried to kill both of you. You tried to put the both of you in the dark forever, and he was so scared. For himself, and for you.” This time her tone was accusing, because she felt Hulk’s fear before she woke up. Bruce looked shocked, and Jo almost felt sorry for snapping at him. Almost, but not completely. He needed to know what he had done to Hulk. 

“I didn’t know.”

“Well, now you do.” She shakily got to her feet and shuffled over to the sink. Toothpaste, lots of toothpaste, coated the toothbrush she kept in Bruce’s room and then she got down to washing the vile taste out of her mouth. She was rinsing when Bruce finally spoke again. 

“Are you okay?”

“I just watched you try to blow your brains out. What do you think?” Bruce awkwardly shifted on his feet and looked away from her eyes, and Jo felt like kicking herself. She was still freaking out from their big fight, from seeing Hulk so damaged. Then there was her nightmare, and then Bruce’s nightmare…or was it Hulk’s? Still, she shouldn’t be taking her scared-equals-angry way of coping out on him. “I’m sorry, Bruce. I’m just…can we go back to bed?”

“I can’t.”

“Oh.” Jo was not going to feel upset or hurt just because Bruce didn’t want to crawl back into bed with her and sleep until all their problems went away. “I’ll just, uh, go to my room and—”

“No! You can stay here; I _want_ you to stay here.” Bruce was lightly touching her shoulders, and she wasn’t going to think of Serrens and his whispered words. 

“You’ve lost me,” she shakily smiled. 

“I need to go…I just need to go, for a little while, but I’ll be back.” Jo nodded, a bit numbly, and Bruce let her go. She followed him back into the bedroom, and she settled herself into the bed as she watched him move around. He pulled on a pair of Hulk shorts and that was it, and she blinked up at him as he walked to the side of the bed. He pulled the blanket up to her chin and tucked her in, and she squeezed her eyes shut when he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. She listened as he left the room and quietly closed the door, and a sigh filled the room. 

“Be safe.”

**August 30, 2014**

Bruce went up to his lab first to quickly type up his report and send it directly to Director Fury. He kept the report strictly professional, with just the base facts. He didn’t document how it felt to have his skin peeled off his muscles or the way his nerves screamed as he dug bony fingers into asphalt. He left out the sound of Jo’s scream as her spine broke; he didn’t mention what it was like to hear Jo’s wrecked voice screaming Hulk’s name while he thought he was dying. SHIELD didn’t need to know any of that, and Bruce wished he could forget it. After the report was sent, he went up to the roof and looked inside his mind. Hulk was definitely still awake, and Bruce could feel the fear now.

“I’ve apologized for a lot this past year, but I never apologized for that, did I?”

 ** _“No.”_** It was a simple answer, but the depth of emotion behind it wasn’t. Hulk was scared of the darkness, and that day was the ultimate definition of the darkness that scared them both. 

“I’m sorry for trying to kill us that day. It was wrong of me, and it wasn’t fair to you.”

 ** _“You hated me and wanted us both dead.”_** Bruce closed his eyes and brought up those feelings from the mountain again; he remembered just how much he hated himself, how hopeless everything seemed, and how he just wanted it all to _stop_. Next he pictured the way Tony looked the day he left, a few days after the Battle of Manhattan, in wrinkled clothes with grease covering his hands. He heard Tony telling him that he was good and so was Hulk. ( _“I just wanted to be_ good.”) He thought of the first time that Hulk read a book, Hulk learning how to add and subtract, and how he could be so gentle sometimes. Bruce could admit now that he loved Hulk and, in doing so, found a way to be at peace with himself. 

“I hated myself more than anything, but I’ll never do something like that again. I’ll never hurt us like that again.”

**_“I was…scared.”_ **

“I know. I was too.” Bruce gently coaxed Hulk out, until bright green eyes were watching the sky light up. Hulk asked a silent question, and Bruce let his own knowledge mingle with Hulk’s in a way that was completely new but made perfect sense. How could Bruce know things that Hulk didn’t when they shared one mind? Hulk jumped from the roof in one effortless leap and started running, and Bruce settled back to let him go. Today was Hulk’s day.

**.xXx.**

“Aaaaaand that’s all she wrote. Literally,” Jo mumbled as she pressed send. The report left for Fury’s inbox, and Jo closed her laptop with a sigh. Or maybe a groan. She was still a bit achy. All of the sleep healed the major damage, but a few of the worse bruises remained. They were a sickly green color now with yellow outlines, but it was progress. She got a good look at them earlier in her own bathroom mirror, before she tugged on a pair of purple leggings and one of Tony’s black long-sleeved band shirts. (It’s Black Sabbath this time.)

“Are you decent?” She was lying in her bed, with her fluffy green blanket pulled up nearly to her chin, and her clothing covers most of her up. 

“Compared to you? Always!” The door to her bedroom opened wider, and her body lost some of its tension as Tony walked farther into the room. He’s in an old pair of jeans and a black tank, but he’s not covered in grease so he hasn’t made it to the lab yet. 

“How ya feelin’, sweetheart?” Tony looks completely okay, but she can feel something swirling around in that genius brain of his. 

“I’ve been better, but I’m healing up okay. I’ll be good as new by tomorrow, maybe tonight,” she said with a little smile. 

“Bruce gonna be okay?” At her confused look, he tapped his temple. “JARVIS alerted me when he left the mansion.”

“He’s takin’ some time for himself today, but he’ll be okay.” She is not going to cry. She’s cried enough in the past twelve hours to last her a lifetime. 

“I saw the footage, Jo.” She froze at the words, except for the slight widening of her eyes, and Tony raised one knee to rest on the edge of her mattress. 

“Footage?” Her heart is pounding against her ribcage and trying to crawl up her throat. 

“We were finishing the cleanup when Bruce’s report came in, and Fury thought it was a little too clinical. Even for Bruce. I used my new skills to take a look at the remaining cameras on the surrounding buildings. We saw the whole thing,” Tony explained. We. Tony, Fury, Maria, Steve, and Thor. They saw the whole thing. 

“I don’t, I—”

“We saw the peeling and the snapping. You should’ve told us how bad it was instead of acting like everything was okay.” Tony looks like he’s torn between anger and worry, and Jo raised up so that she was actually sitting on the bed instead of reclining against the headboard. 

“What was I supposed to say? ‘Hey, guys, thanks for showing up because Hulk just had all of his skin blasted off? Oh, and I can’t feel my legs?’ Yeah, just lettin’ it go was a lot easier, and we’re both okay. I’m not sure how we’re both okay, but we are.”

“So why is Bruce MIA, and why are you hiding up here?” She wants to argue, but no one wins in an argument against Tony Stark. 

“Because Hulk went through something that would’ve killed anyone else. The dude fuckin’ ripped his skin off, so he’s earned a day to himself. And I’m not alone. I’m with my best friend, so get your ass over here and cuddle me until I feel better,” she said with a pointed look. 

“Thought you’d never ask.” Tony dove under the blanket when she held it up for him, and her laugh sounded foreign to her ears as Tony rocked against her until they got comfortable. They’re in their usual sleeping position, almost. Tony’s head is resting over her chest, over her heartbeat, instead of her stomach. He saw what happened to her too, and he’s worried. 

“I really am okay, you know.” Tony’s fingers were lightly running through her hair, because it’s completely down, and he hummed a little. After a minute, she told him about the nightmares. Hers and Bruce’s. Hulk’s. He wasn’t surprised, because he already knew that Bruce tried to kill himself. She could see it in his mind; before the big alien fight, on the hellicarrier. She hates seeing Bruce look so defeated, and Tony hates it too. 

“I love you.” Jo laughed to hold back her tears and nuzzled her nose against the top of Tony’s head.

“Love you too.”

**.xXx.**

It was late afternoon, and Hulk was wandering aimlessly somewhere outside of Toronto. The trees around him were huge and let in random shafts of light, and Bruce realized that Hulk really loved the scenery. It soothed him. After hitting the ground outside the mansion, Hulk just ran. He ran for hours with no particular destination in mind, and he slowed to a walk about an hour and a half ago. Sometimes he let a thought drift to Bruce, but they were mostly quiet. It was comforting for the both of them to just get away from everyone and everything. Running was something that they were both good at.

“Good view, huh?” Hulk turned with a growl and his shoulders bunched up, and the man standing where he just walked raised his hands. The man was dressed in heavy boots that should’ve made some sound as he walked through the woods, but Hulk hadn’t heard him. Hulk also made a point to look for weapons, but he couldn’t see any. The man was only dressed in a pair of jeans that were tucked into his boots and a plain white undershirt, so if he was hiding a weapon, it was well concealed. 

“What do you want?” Hulk asked. The guy raised a brow and pulled a cigar from his front jeans pocket. He lifted it to his lips but didn’t light it, just let it sit there. 

“Got a call from JARVIS, said to keep an eye out for a moving green mountain. You’re not here to make trouble, are ya, bub?” The slow and rough voice made Hulk think of Jo, and Bruce felt the big guy’s pang of worry as he pictured the way Jo had looked down at him after the nightmare. She’d been so worried, and Hulk could still feel the hard press of her flesh as she assured herself that he was okay. Bruce might not love Jo, not yet, but Hulk certainly did. 

“Out for a walk,” Hulk answered. If JARVIS called him, Tony must know him but Bruce can’t place him so that means Hulk can’t either. The man huffed and started walking down the path, and Hulk turned to walk beside him. He had to take smaller steps than usual, but he didn’t want to get too far ahead. 

“What are you runnin’ from?” The man’s eyes squinted as he looked up at him, and it looked like he was frowning around the cigar. 

“Who says I’m running?” Hulk’s speech was beyond improved, and Bruce was learning that Hulk had his own rough sense of humor. 

“I almost didn’t believe it, when she first told me. Sent me a text and still won’t answer my calls. _Kinda dating Doc Banner. Don’t make a big deal out of it. Talk later._ Do I look like someone that makes a big deal out of things?” The man is talking about Jo, so he must be Logan. Wolverine. The closest thing Jo has to a father. 

“Are you?” The man looked over and up at him with a brow that seemed perpetually raised and disbelief in his eyes. 

“Normally, no. If you run away from her and break her heart, I might have to make a little bit of a deal out of things. So, what’s it gonna be, Hulk?” Hulk wanted to growl and maybe smash the top of the man’s head, but he held back. Logan is worried about Jo, which means that he’s on the same side as Hulk. They both just want her to be happy. 

“I’m going home.” The mansion was home, and home was where Jo was. Where his team was. For the first time in years, they had a home. A real home, not just a hideaway. 

“Then why are you still here?” Hulk shrugged because he didn’t feel like explaining himself to some stranger. “Don’t wait too long. She’s not the patient type.”

“Humph,” Hulk huffed. That’s where he was wrong; Jo could be patient. He can still remember how still she was as she laid against him and listened to him read, over and over again. Hulk stopped walking, and Logan stopped after one more step. He wants to go home. 

“Leavin’?” Hulk was already walking back the way he came, so the answer was obvious. “Nice talkin’ to ya, Wintergreen! We should do it again sometime!”

Logan disappeared into the trees before Hulk could reply, and the big guy huffed as he continued walking down the path. He’s been gone long enough; it’s time to return home.

**.xXx.**

“Oh, what about these?” Darcy asked and pointed to a giant bouquet of flowers.

“They clash with the rest of the color scheme,” Natasha pointed out. 

“Not if we change them to this,” Maria countered and pointed to a different set that was nearly identical. 

“And the flowers don’t really have to match the color scheme. They’re flowers,” was Jo’s argument. 

“They are really lovely,” Pepper said in a calm voice.

“Not as lovely as the lilies.”

“No one asked you, Clint!” Darcy and Clint started to argue over the merit of different breeds of flowers, and the rest of them sat back in their chairs. The six of them are sitting in the dining room, with wedding books spread out between them on the table, and this isn’t Clint and Darcy’s first argument about the perfect wedding. Jo’s starting to think that Tony had the right idea when he ran to the lab. Speaking of the future groom, it’s nearly his bedtime and she knows for a fact that the grease in his hair has turned into a helmet by now. 

“I agree with whatever Pepper wants,” Jo said as she stood up. After all, it’s Pepper’s big day. Although, watching Clint and Darcy argue over china patterns is kinda adorable. Maria and Natasha keep egging them on too; Maria takes Darcy side while Natasha subtly sides with Clint. Maybe that’s why Thor and Steve decided to spar? To escape the madness?

“Oh, Jo?” She paused in the doorway and met Pepper’s pretty blue eyes. She’s gonna make a beautiful bride, Jo just knows it. 

“Yeah?”

“I picked up some more shampoo while I was out; it’s under the sink.” It’s a strange arrangement they all have, but it’s working. 

“Darn. I was looking forward to using my shampoo on him; he hates it when he smells all girly,” Jo said with a grin. Pepper knows that the ritual is something that they almost need, and she’s okay with it because Tony can’t get all the grease out like Jo can. 

“I’ll pick up something flowery next time.” Pepper winked at her before turning back around to face the others, and Jo smiled the whole time the elevator was moving. Today has been…okay. It hasn’t been her best day ever, but it’s still been a good day. She cuddled with Tony, ate lunch with Darcy and Jade, and watched everyone fuss over Pepper’s future wedding. (Tony is going to avoid the planning like the plague.)

“Alright, boss, time’s up!” she called as soon as she stepped into the lab. Tony jumped up from where he was sitting and rushed over to her, and she raised a brow at him as he drug her over to his work table. “You okay?”

“Just finished it!” There’s a black jumpsuit on the table, almost like what Natasha wears on missions. Well, it’s mostly black. It’s outlined in dark green.

“Finished what?” The material looks thick but breathable, and she had to resist the urge to reach out and touch it. 

“Your super suit! The material has the same tensile strength as steel, so you won’t have to worry about it getting torn. Or burned. And I put repulsors in your steel-toes.”

“You made me a super suit?” This is for her? She let her fingers brush against the material, it was soft, and she could feel Tony’s eyes on her. 

“There’s repulsors in the gloves too, and a little arc reactor in the belt to power it all. You like it?” Okay, so Tony made her a flying super suit. Her mind reached out, and she let Tony feel how happy she was. How overwhelmed she was. Arms wrapped around her seconds later, and Tony dropped his cheek onto her shoulder. His greasy hair brushed against her neck, and she turned to really hug him. 

“I love it, and I can’t wait to try it out,” she whispered. Yeah, there’s no one else in the lab but this is a special moment and special moments require whispering. 

“But first!” He paused and waited for her to pull back to look at him. “Bath time?”

“Definitely. How do you even get this dirty without ever leaving the house?” They traded jibes all the way to Tony’s room, but they were both quiet as Jo started washing his hair. It’s calming for both of them. 

“Can I ask you something?” The conditioner has been rinsed out of his hair, so now she’s just running her fingers through the wet strands. 

“You just did,” she said with a little laugh. Tony huffed, which just made her laugh louder, and she lightly pulled on his hair to get him talking again. 

“This is a very serious matter.”

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to talk about serious matters when you’re naked?”

“Too much of a distraction for you?”

“Don’t make me come in there; you won’t like me when I’m angry.” They both laughed a little at the joke, and Tony slumped back against her. Looks like she’ll be changing after this. Tony’s eyes met hers, upside-down, and she waited for him to ask his question. 

“Will you be my best man?” Well, she wasn’t expecting that. Maybe she should have though. Tony likes the others; he trusts Thor and Steve, and he thinks of Bruce as a close friend. What he has with her is different though, something special. 

“I’d be honored to be your best man.” She’s not really sure how that’s going to work, but they’ll figure it out. 

“I want Darcy to be the flower girl. Or Thor. Either one is acceptable.” 

“We are definitely making them both flower crowns,” Jo agreed as she stood up. Tony followed after her, and she tossed him a towel before drying off her bare legs. She’s just in Tony’s long-sleeve shirt now, but it’s wet from where he laid back against her. The leggings are dry though, so she pulled those back up. 

“Did he make a mess?” Pepper asked as they stepped out of the bathroom. Jo was still rubbing a towel over his hair and trying to get him to stay still, and they both paused just inside the bedroom. 

“It’s been worse,” Jo finally decided. Tony pulled the towel off his head and tossed it in the direction of the bathroom, and Jo smiled when he glared over at her. 

“I’m not a child.” Jo met Pepper’s eyes, and the two women raised a brow at the same time before falling into laughter. They would’ve been able to stop, but Tony started pouting and the laughter just kept coming. 

“Alright, I’m officially off-duty. He’s all yours, Pep.” Jo used a light hold on Tony’s bare shoulder to push him towards Pepper, and she saw the woman’s grateful smile. Pepper can’t be jealous of her because she’s just happy that Tony has someone that cares so much about him, and who doesn’t want anything in return. 

“See you at eight for pickup?” Pepper called out as Jo reached the bedroom door. She could hear Tony squawking in indignation, and she bit down on her smile before replying. 

“Wouldn’t miss it! G’night!” The two of them called out a goodnight, Tony added in an I-love-you, and Jo was smiling when she walked into her bedroom. There was a little bundle of cloth on her bed, and she tapped her fingers against the purple shirt. The restaurant must have delivered it, but the earrings were missing. Pepper probably did the drop off. Jo tugged off the wet shirt she was wearing and tossed it into her dirty clothes basket, and she carefully pulled the purple button-up on. 

She thought about sleeping, but she doesn’t want to sleep without Bruce. So she walked away from her big inviting bed and out onto the balcony. The futon is pretty comfortable, and she likes looking up at the stars. Maybe she can knit for a bit, to take her mind off things. She grabbed her knitting basket and then made her way outside, and she fell against the futon with a quiet sigh. She buried her nose against the dark purple fabric, just to smell Bruce’s scent, and then picked up her knitting needles. 

“Miss Jo?” She looked away from the hat she was making, for Darcy, and looked up at the sky. She’s not sure why, but she likes looking upwards whenever she talks to JARVIS. 

“What’s shakin’, JARVIS?”

“Master Hulk is on his way to your location.” She sat up so fast that her spine popped, and not in that pleasant way that loosens her up. 

"Is he okay?"

“Yes, Miss Jo, Master Hulk is quite well.” Jo glared at nothing in particular at JARVIS’s amused tone and moved her knitting basket to the table placed next to the futon. Her ears strained to hear the sound of Hulk’s heavy footsteps, and her eyes were wide because she didn’t want to blink and miss him. When he appeared in her balcony doorway, her breath whooshed out and that burning sensation in her lungs made sense. The damned man was making her forget how to breathe now. 

“Hi.” Jo could’ve slapped herself for the breathy sound of her voice and the stupid grin that was most definitely on her face, but she was so freaking happy. It’s like she was just realizing how scared and worried she was, but Hulk is back. Bruce is home. 

“I’m sorry for running.” His eyes were downcast, and Jo reached out with both hands until she could grab one giant green hand. 

“We all need to run sometimes. You don’t have anything to apologize for. You’re home now, and that’s what matters.” Hulk smiled at her, a small little thing that made her heart ache, and he slowly lowered himself down to sit on the balcony floor. 

“We’re home,” Hulk agreed. 

“Yep! Now, how about a bedtime story?” Now that Hulk is here and she knows that they’re both okay, she can feel sleep pulling at her bones. She used up a lot energy to get herself healed, and she’s so tired. She can’t think of a better way to fall asleep than to the sound of Hulk’s voice. Except for maybe cuddling with his other half. 

“Can I read Harry Potter?” They started the first book a few days ago, and Hulk really seems to enjoy it if the way he’s plowed through it is anything to go by. The series is one of Jo’s favorites too, so listening to Hulk read it is like happiness wrapped in rainbows. Whoa, she really needs to sleep. Her thoughts were interrupted when Hulk scooped her up, blanket and all, and lowered her down. She didn’t even notice the big guy stretching out on the balcony floor, and she laughed out loud as Hulk carefully placed her on her back across his stomach. JARVIS projected the page they left off on over their heads, and the page looked otherworldly framed by the stars. 

“Malfoy couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw that Harry and Ron were still at Hogwarts the next day, looking tired but perfectly cheerful.”

Jo was fast asleep before Hulk reached the next page.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good chapter, hmm? I had fun writing it, except for the beginning. I honestly do hate making my characters sad, but it can’t be fluff all the time. Does that count as Jo and Bruce’s first fight? Neither one really got angry, but it was a little tense. Thoughts? Also, Logan was in this chapter! It’s been a little while since I flipped through an X-Men comic or watched any of the movies, so I hope he turned out okay. And I couldn’t resist all the wedding talk, because I’m excited! A wedding!
> 
> The Harry Potter line is from _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Chapter Ten, Halloween_.


	25. No, It's A Duel!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _whoa, how the mighty fall_   
>  _the mighty fall_   
>  _the mighty fall_   
>  _they fall in love_   
>  **The Mighty Fall by Fall Out Boy**   
> 

**August 31, 2014**

Jo woke up in the best possible way, which meant that she was sprawled over Bruce like a living blanket and there weren’t any crumbs digging into her thigh. (She hadn’t been lying when she told Bruce that there were crumbs in her bed.) She stretched out and felt her muscles pulling, and she sighed as some of her bones did a wonderful impression of some popcorn. A quiet good morning greeting reached her ears, and Jo twisted herself around with a little wiggle so she could reach Bruce’s lips. It was probably really early, there was the whole morning breath issue, but she really didn’t care. She wanted to kiss Bruce, because he was okay and he was with her.

“Mmm, good morning,” she mumbled after pulling away. Hair tickled her cheek as she burrowed against his chest, and she had a moment where she wanted to just stay in this same position forever.

“Have I ever told you how much I love your wakeup calls?” She could hear the smile in his voice, but that didn’t stop her from tilting her head to actually see it. Yep, just as beautiful as she remembered. She shimmied out of the sheet wrapped around her so that she could properly straddle Bruce’s hips, and she leaned down to nip at his ear.

“Feel free to keep reminding me, or maybe you can—”

“Seriously?! Why does this keep happening to me? What god did I offend to cause this?” Jo was sitting straight up now, still on top of Bruce, and she was thankful that she was still wearing the purple leggings and button-up. Bruce is still wearing his Hulk shorts, so they’re both decent at least.

“Sorry, kid. Maybe you should try knocking?” Darcy narrowed her eyes, but Jo just smiled at her.

“Breakfast in ten. I expect to see both of you, fully dressed, at the table in nine minutes,” Darcy said with a very menacing finger point. Jo has seen her fair share of finger points, so she can tell the menacing ones from the harmless ones. Jo gave her a salute, and she could feel Bruce shifting under her.

“Sorry, Darcy,” he said as she was pulling the door shut.

“Whatever. You’re not my real dad!” Jo met Bruce’s eyes as the words really sunk in, and she felt her lips twitching as she did her best not to laugh. She failed.

 

**.xXx.**

Darcy could hear Jo’s loud laughter until the elevator doors shut, and she smiled to herself. It takes a special kind of person to be so hilarious before noon, and she considers herself to be very special. Maybe if she was less special, she’d stop walking in on people in compromising positions. Then again, Tony and Pepper had been fully dressed and talking like normal people when she told them about breakfast. Looks like it’s all about balance. The elevator only made it down one floor before stopping, and her face was frozen in a smile when Clint joined her.

“No one should smile like that before noon. What did you do?” He sounds like he’s still half asleep; probably because they spent most of last night going over wedding ideas for Tony and Pepper. She quickly explained what she had walked in on just a few minutes before and her parting words, and Clint’s face twisted into a smile. He looks good with a smile on his face. Well, he always look good, but he looks especially good when he smiles.

“I bet ol’ Josie loved that,” he said with a little chuckle.

“It definitely made her laugh,” Darcy confirmed. Clint seemed happy about that, because Jo is one of his closest friends. Darcy still can’t get over the fact that they’ve been friends for nearly a decade; when they met, she was still struggling through high school. She’s also heard Tony talk about them dancing, but she’s only seen them dance in that tango class. And that was just on a monitor.

“Someone’s thinking a little too hard.” Clint tapped the center of her forehead, because he’s standing right in front of her, and when did that happen? When did the elevator door open?

“Still waking up,” she covered. Tony says the way they dance is sweet and innocent, but she just can’t picture it. Dancing like maniacs? Sure.

“C’mon, Darce,” Clint said and tugged on her hand. Right, she’s supposed to be walking. She doesn’t have to hold Clint’s hand to walk from the elevator to the dining room, but she can’t really think of a reason to let go either.

“I really hate that name.” Clint stopped walking, which made her run into his back. He looked over his shoulder at her, and Darcy blinked to better focus. His eyes are never the same color; today they’re mostly green, with just a little bit of golden brown around his pupils.

“I think it’s a cute name.” He’s fighting not to smile; she can tell.

“Do I look cute to you?” Oh no…she did not just say that. Why did she say that? Clint’s pretty eyes looked her over, from the top of her head to her socked feet, and the little smile on his face made something in her stomach flip.

“Cute enough.” Her mouth dropped open at the teasing tone, and she would’ve shot back with a witty retort if Tony hadn’t interrupted her.

“Barton! Quit corrupting my love child!”

“Yeah, Clinton!” Jo added. Looks like they all came down together. Darcy looked over her shoulder and trained her eyes in a glare. Tony and Jo were in the middle, with Bruce and Pepper standing next to them. Pepper and Bruce are at least dressed nicely; Pepper’s wearing a dark gray skirt and a blue top that makes her eyes pop, and Bruce is wearing slacks and a dark green button-up. Tony’s jeans have holes in them and the gray band tee has grease stains on it, and Jo’s wearing a pair of pale yellow shorts and one of Tony’s white ACDC shirts.

“Whatcha gonna do about it?!” Clint yelled back. He’s still holding her hand, and he used that hold to pull her around in front of him and then she was suddenly in his arms. Like, bridal style. Her arms flew around his neck in surprise, and she could feel his fingers pressing into her thigh just over her knee. “We’re going off into the sunset, and you can’t stop us!”

“It’s seven in the morning!” she heard Jo yell as Clint ran into the dining room. Darcy has some curves to her, but Clint is carrying her and running like it’s no big deal. He ran around to the far side of the table, where he usually sits, and smoothly plopped her into his seat. Next thing she knew, he was sitting in her lap. She let out a little _oomph_ of air as he leaned back against her, and she could just see the doorway over his shoulder.

“If you want her, you gotta duel for her!” Jo was standing behind Darcy’s usual seat with her fists propped on her hips, and the other three moved around her to take their seats.

“Weapons?” Clint asked.

“Water guns filled with paint, obviously.” Jo shrugged like it was nothing, and Darcy dropped her forehead onto Clint’s shoulder blade. They’re both insane.

“Time?” Darcy groaned, to let them know that she was displeased with this conversation as a whole, but they ignored her.

“At dawn!” It sounds so medieval; she’s gonna hurl. It wouldn’t be so bad if she didn’t actually have a crush on Clint. Not that she’s sure that she does. He looks awesome shirtless (well, his bare arms are scrumptious because she hasn’t seen him with his shirt off since he was in the hospital). His eyes do this thing where she can’t seem to breathe right when she looks directly into them. He doesn’t want her to be a fighter and get that haunted look in her eyes like the rest of them.

“It’s a deal!”

“No, it’s a duel!”

“What have I missed?” Thor asked as he walked in. The god is carrying several plates of food, and Natasha is behind him with their plates. The assassin raised a brow at Darcy and Clint’s seating arrangement, but she didn’t say anything. Just set two plates in front of Clint, left her usual spot empty, and placed a plate at Darcy’s usual seat. So Natasha is taking her seat, because Clint is still sitting in her lap.

“Jo and Clint are gonna duel over Darcy,” Tony explained and grabbed a pancake. Or three.

“Darcy is more than just a prize to be won,” Thor said with a serious look at Jo and Clint. Darcy didn’t know if she wanted to laugh or hug the big guy. Both, she decided. Just as soon as Clint gets off of her.

“Whoever wins will treat her with the utmost respect,” Jo promised.

“And will strive to make sure that she is never harmed,” Clint added. It’s official. She hates both of them.

 _“Hear that, kid? Clint’s gonna duel for you. Want me to throw the fight? It goes against my nature, but I’ll make an exception for you.”_ That’s Jo’s voice, inside her head. She knows that Jo has been practicing projecting her thoughts, and it sounds like she’s getting better. Her mental voice is still quiet, like a whisper, but Darcy heard every word.

 _“Who says I want him to win?”_ She made sure to look around Clint and meet Jo’s eyes, and the mutant threw her head back in a laugh.

“Prepare to get your ass kicked, Clinton,” Jo said as she moved around the table. She seemed to fall into Bruce’s lap, but the scientist didn’t seem fazed at all. He just wrapped an arm around her waist and continued to eat with his other hand. Jo turned to tuck her feet under Tony’s thigh, and she twisted around to stick her tongue out at Clint once she was settled.

“World’s greatest marksman, baby. You’ll never see me coming.” She’s never heard Clint talk in that tone, a little lower and rougher than his usual voice, and it’s definitely not affecting her. Not even a little.

“If someone doesn’t feed me soon, you won’t have anyone to duel over. I’m wasting away back here.” She could hear Jo laughing as Clint moved to fix them both a plate, and she rolled her eyes when he offered her a piece of a sausage on the end of a fork. That’s just way too much innuendo for her right now. “I want pancakes.”

“Definitely the lovechild of Stark,” Clint mumbled as he put the fork down. He twisted around so that he was sitting sideways in her lap, so she could reach her own plate of pancakes. This morning is turning out so weird.

“That better be a compliment!” Tony yelled around a mouthful of eggs.

“I’m sure it was,” Pepper said with a sweet smile. Tony took one look at her and seemed to melt, and Darcy wants to learn how to do that.

“I shall oversee this duel. To make sure that the victor is worthy of Darcy,” Thor said as he took his seat. Aww, the big guy is looking out for her! Darcy just might have a god as her big brother.

“Sounds good to me,” Clint said. Jo hummed because her cheeks were stuffed full, but Darcy is pretty sure that she’s agreeing. The two of them will probably need a referee.

“And no cheating. I’ll be watching.” Jo and Clint both shifted at Natasha’s words, but the female assassin wasn’t even looking at them. She’s spreading jam on her toast, which isn’t threatening at all, but Jo and Clint are looking at her like she’s holding a grenade.

“Where’s Steve?” Jo finally asked. Tony looked up and around, but it was Thor that answered.

“Maria asked to speak with him before he could break his fast.” Huh, is Maria talking to Steve or Captain America? Because Maria is an agent again now that she’s all healed up. Darcy is kinda gonna miss her; Maria kept to herself most of the time, but the agent is funny and agreed with all of her wedding designs.

 _“Think she’s checking out his poetic jawline?”_ Darcy almost choked on her syrupy pancakes at the whispered question, and she cut her eyes over at Jo. The mutant is smiling at Tony though and not even looking her way. Darcy hopes she can feel the glare on the back of her neck.

 _“Give me a warning first before you do that!”_ Then she realized what the mutant had said, or thought. _“Don’t we all check out his poetic jawline?”_

 _“The only jawline you should be checking out is Clinton’s. It might not be as patriotic, but I’d go to war for his pretty face.”_ Darcy snorted a little as she tried to hold in her laughter, and Clint raised a brow at her. Okay, maybe secretly talking with Jo is a lot cooler than she previously thought. No one else can hear them, so they can say whatever they want.

_“Does that mean you promise not to mess up his pretty face during your duel?”_

_“All is fair in love and war.”_

“You okay, Darce?” There’s that nickname again; a part of her wanted to remind him that she hates that nickname, but he’s smiling so that’s probably what he wants her to do. Well, she’s not gonna give him the satisfaction.

“I feel like one of those distressed damsels from Jo’s cheesy romance books.”

“They’re not cheesy!”

Weirdest morning ever.

 

**.xXx.**

Natasha offered to take over Darcy’s training after breakfast, so Jo followed Bruce up to his lab. (Tony and Pepper kept giving each other looks at the breakfast table, so Jo’s going to give them their alone time.) Bruce moved over to what he was working on, and Jo collapsed onto the couch at the back of the lab. She’s got a book stashed in the cushions, and she pulled it out with the notion of actually reading it. Instead, she’s lost inside of her own head. She can hear Bruce moving around, hear little clinks and whirls of machines, and she lost herself as he started on his science.

She spent most of her thinking energy on trying to figure out just what the hell was going on in her life. She’s still in a state of shock from their last big fight, could still feel the fear of watching Hulk being ripped apart in front of her eyes, and could still hear Bruce’s defeated voice right before he pulled the trigger. Then there’s the other side of everything. The other side where she can’t sleep without Bruce’s warmth next to her, where she wrapped herself in his clothes just so she could keep his scent in her nose, and where he made her feel like a scared little teenager all over again. It was all so much, almost too much, and it was scaring the hell out of her. The scariest part? Being with Bruce was easy and felt right, and she’s never been more scared. Was Bruce just as scared and confused? He had to be, because this was new for both of them.

The thoughts crowding her mind had been quiet throughout breakfast, because she was focused on teasing Clint and Darcy. They may seem like an odd pair, but Jo can see them working together. Clint needs someone like Darcy, who is strong enough to handle his demons and just innocent enough to really bring some light into his life. As for Darcy, she knows that Clint will treat her like the amazing person that she is. She can already see it in the way he touches her, like she might disappear if he stops. Now she’s alone with her thoughts again, and her thoughts always seem to run back to Bruce. (Or Tony, but those thoughts are easy peasy compared to the Bruce thoughts.)

“Are you okay?” Jo’s eyes snapped open and looked around her. She’s still stretched out on the couch, but her book is lying forgotten on the floor. Bruce is standing in front of some kind of machine that’s shiny and looks expensive, and he’s got a little worried furrow between his brows.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Jo smiled over at him, but it felt fake even to her.

“Because you’re not reading, or knitting, or singing, or dancing, or—”

“Yeah, yeah, I get the picture. I can be all deep and stare into space sometimes.”

“Your eyes were closed,” Bruce helpfully pointed out.

“The space in my mind? Or I might’ve been napping.”

“You weren’t napping.”

“Are you a telepath too?” Jo was sitting up now, with her legs pulled under her. Bruce had his glasses pulled on and the sleeves of his dark green shirt rolled up to his elbows. His hair wasn’t messy enough; Jo had to fight against the urge to go run her fingers through it and watch the curls spring up.

“When you nap, you, uh, pull some of your hair free and nibble on the ends.” Jo felt her cheeks heating up, because she was pretty sure that she was careful to not do that around people. Because what kind of person eats their hair? Not that she swallows it or anything, just some nibbles.

“You noticed that, huh?”

“I can be observant sometimes. Is everything okay?” Jo lifted one shoulder in a shrug and reached down to pop her toes. She could brush everything off and wait until she’d thought everything through some more, but why wait?

“We’re definitely together, right? With the amazing sex and fuzzy feelings, the whole nine yards?”

“I’d say that’s a correct assumption.” Bruce’s smile was soft and gentle, and Jo stopped chewing at the inside of her cheek.

“I really care about you. I thought you were going to die, and it felt like I was dying right along with you. I don’t get sick, ever, but your nightmare had me scrambling for the toilet. All because of…Fuck, I was terrified because I almost never met you. Well, there’s no way that Hulk wouldn’t save you two, but just the idea of never meeting you made me physically sick. And not just you, but Hulk too. It might sound a little crazy, but I love Hulk. Yeah, he’s gigantic and a little violent, but he’s also really innocent in some ways and he saved me. Keeps saving me, in little ways. So I worry, and I care, and I can’t stop thinking about you. I didn’t even want to go to sleep last night because you weren’t there. Don’t get me wrong, it’s amazing. Love songs and the harlequins are starting to make sense. But it’s so much and sometimes I feel like I’m drowning.”

Jo sucked in a deep breath and felt relief wash over her. Now that she’d said it out loud, she felt like all of it wasn’t even that big of a deal. Caring about people was normal, especially when there was actual dating involved. For someone like Jo, whose only real relationship was based on loneliness, caring so much about someone who she met less than a year ago is a bit…different. (Tony and Darcy don’t count; they were missing family members, and they were always meant to come together.) It’s overwhelming, and she can admit that she’s a bit emotionally stunted when it comes to these things. When most girls were starting their lives away from home and falling in love, she was strapped to a table and losing some of her ability to trust. It sucks, but whatever. It’s something that she’s dealt with over the years; this is just the first time she’s had a chance to put all those self-therapy sessions into practice.

“Jo?” She really needs to stop spacing out so much, especially during important relationship talks. If she had been paying attention, she might have noticed when Bruce slipped off his stool and walked over to kneel in front of her. She didn’t feel his hands when they lightly gripped her bare thighs, and she’s always hyper aware of his skin against hers.

“Sorry, just a little spacey today.” Her smile mirrored Bruce’s, and she felt his fingers flexing against her legs.

“Sometimes I feel like I’m drowning too, like when you fold my socks and ask Hulk for another bedtime story. I’m not proud of it, but I spent years hating Hulk and myself. After I accepted who Hulk really is, I didn’t, I never…even if I love Hulk, how could I ever ask someone else to love someone labeled as a dangerous threat? A killer? A monster?”

“Bruce, I—” Bruce moved to grab her hands, which effectively shut her up.

“I wasn’t looking for anyone; I was okay with just learning how to be happy with myself again. You came out of nowhere, when I least expected it, and just existed in the same space. You didn’t jump every time I moved, you never hesitated to touch me, made sure I knew I was accepted and wanted here, and you…You walked in on Hulk struggling to read. Do you know what most people would have done? They wouldn’t have curled up in his lap and asked him to read over and over again, until he had the story completely memorized. I hide things, bury them, but I asked you to look inside my mind. You know things about me that no one else does. I’m scared too.”

“I’ve never heard you say so much in one go,” Jo breathed out. Sweet fuck, she could listen to this man talk for hours. The more he talked, the stronger his voice got until it was so intense that her thighs were tingling and her heart was pounding. Maybe she could work something out with Hulk so that they could alternate bedtime stories. She’s got a stack of romance novels stashed under her bed.

“I’m not finished.”

“Oh?” Bruce’s head ducked down and when he looked up, Hulk’s bright green eyes were staring up at her. It was a little different seeing Hulk’s eyes in Bruce’s non-green face, but there was no mistaking who was in control for the moment. “Hey, big guy.”

“You love me.” That was definitely Hulk’s growling voice, and Jo could see smudges of green across Bruce’s throat and coloring his cheeks.

“Yeah, I do. You’re my hero, my Hulkster. What’s not to love?” Jo’s pretty sure what she feels for Hulk is like how a mother loves her children; it’s pride and amusement and a can-do-no-wrong attitude. It’s sweet and innocent and effortless.

“I love you too.” Bruce was still holding her hands, so Jo leant forward to press a kiss against Hulk/Bruce’s forehead. She held her lips pressed against the green tinted skin and squeezed her eyes shut, and she felt rough hands gently moving up her arms and coming to rest on her cheeks.

“Bruce?” Her hoarse voice was even thicker than usual, and hands held her steady as he shifted back far enough to see her eyes. Brown, so it was Bruce.

“We’ll be okay,” he whispered against her lips.

“I don’t need anyone.” It sounded like she was talking to herself, which she kinda was. It was something she’d been telling herself for years, that she’d never need someone to feel complete. Not like this.

“I know.”

“But I want you.” Bruce moved so fast that it made her head spin, almost literally. One moment she was sitting on the couch with Bruce kneeling on the ground in front of her, and the next Bruce was sitting on the couch with her sideways in his lap. Her hands immediately went to his hair to lightly pull on it, and she felt his hands tracing across the bare skin of her back.

“I just want to hold you, just for a little while.” His voice was even, but his hands were shaking against the hold he had on her ribcage.

“Bruce, darlin’, you can hold me until the world stops spinning and it still won’t be long enough.” She felt his laugh and pressed her smile against his, and everything was suddenly okay. Everything was just the way it was supposed to be.

 

**.xXx.**

“I’m gonna go check on Tony and make sure that he hasn’t blown himself up,” Jo said with a little yawn. “You gonna be okay for lunch?”

“I know how to make a sandwich.” The answer made her smile, wide enough to show the dimple in her cheek, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. They’re both still on the couch, and they might have dozed off for a little bit. Just a little.

“Mmm, my genius.” It was hummed into his hair, and he felt a little bit colder when she suddenly flowed to her feet. He blinked up at her, and she reached out to scrub a hand through his hair. He could feel the curls unwinding, and there’s no telling what his hair looks like now.

“Go check on Tony. I’ll see you at dinner.” Her kiss was quick, and he had to lock his muscles in place to keep from following after her when she pulled back. Just to be safe, he waited until he was pretty sure that she was in Tony’s lab to make his way to the kitchen. He didn’t run into anyone, so there’s no telling where everyone is.

He pulled out sandwich ingredients and started making his tea on autopilot, and he thought back to what happened before his little nap with Jo. Because now that he’s sitting still and not busy doing anything too taxing, he can think about everything that happened earlier. In all honesty, he should have seen Jo’s fear-fueled outburst coming. He was a little surprised that he wasn’t the one that broke first, because this was intense for both of them.

Normally when two people meet and realize they are attracted to one another, they go on a date. They share an awkward first kiss, go on a few more dates, and take their time getting to know one another. They work their way up to that first sleepover and let their secrets out one at a time. At least, that’s what he and Betty had done. With Jo, they packed months’ worth of experiences into such a short amount of time. It’s only been a little over a month since they met face to face; they’re a few days shy of two weeks when it comes to dating. Their relationship wasn’t normal, but how could it be when one of them had an alter-ego that was green and the other was a telepath? No, they were never going to have a normal relationship, so Bruce couldn’t compare it to one. They had something different, something a little scary that was sometimes a little too intense and moved fast, but it was _amazing_. And it was going to work.

“Bruce?” The quiet voice pulled him out of his thoughts, and he looked down at his uneaten sandwich. The teapot is whistling too.

“Oh, uh, hi, Pepper,” he managed to get out while he hurriedly moved the teapot.

“Is everything okay? You look a little…dazed.” She looked concerned, and Bruce resisted the urge to wring his hands. (To check his pulse.)

“I’m fine. Just lost in thoughts.”

“Tony does that a lot too. Must be a genius thing.” Her smile was kind and only a little teasing, and she accepted his offer of tea. She talked about the wedding as he ate his sandwich, and she laughed as she talked about how Darcy and Clint kept arguing over every detail.

“What do you want?” It’s the first thing he’s been able to say, because he was hungrier than he realized. Pepper stopped and seemed to really think about it, and he sipped at his tea as he waited.

“Something…simple. All I really want is Tony. The rest doesn’t matter so much.” Her smile curved her lips, and there was a look in her eyes that made him want to smile. Tony is his friend, was his only friend for a while, and he’s happy for him.

“He’s really lucky.”

“So is Jo.” Bruce hid his smile behind his teacup, but he had a feeling that Pepper knew he was smiling anyway. “What are your thoughts on fondue? Wedding appropriate or no?”

 

**.xXx.**

“That’s it, sweetheart. Just a little lower. You gotta loosen up, or you’ll hurt yourself.” That’s definitely Tony’s voice, followed by Jo’s frustrated huff, and Darcy sighed as she paused just inside the lab.

“You two better not be having sex! I’ve put a lot of work into planning Pepper’s wedding!” There was a crash from the back of the lab, where she can’t see, and she smiled up at Thor before walking towards the sound. She could feel the god walking behind her, and they both stopped to take in the scene.

Tony was standing in front of one of his cars, that Darcy still isn’t sure how it got up here, and Jo was laying across the hood. Tony’s still in his ratty jeans and band tee, but Jo is wearing a black jumpsuit. It’s not completely skintight, but it shows off her curves pretty well. Jo sat up when she saw them, which caused her to slide down the hood a little, and Tony caught her before she could hit the ground. Once she was righted, they both turned to look at her and smiled.

“Don’t you mean mine and Pepper’s wedding? I’m a necessary piece,” Tony said and pointed at his face. Jo swatted his hand away and stepped in front of him, and Darcy could see the dark green lines that ran down the length of the suit.

“Tony made me a super suit so that I can stop destroying all my clothes, and it can fly!” Jo looked so excited, and a few strands of hair had slipped out of her bun to cling to her flushed cheeks.

“Which is still in the testing process, clearly,” Tony drawled out. Jo glared at him, but Darcy heard the crash so she might have to agree with Tony on this one.

“That’s cool, and I wanna hear all about it later, but I need to talk to you first,” Darcy got out. If she doesn’t do this now, she never will.

“All of us?” Thor asked. Yeah, she didn’t really explain anything earlier. She just asked the big guy to come with her to Tony’s lab, and Thor’s super chill so he didn’t question her. Jo was unzipping the jumpsuit to reveal her shorts and tee shirt, so Darcy waited until she was completely out of the super suit to answer.

“Yeah, all of you.”

A minute later, Jo was sitting on the couch between Tony and Thor while Darcy paced in front of them. This is important, and she really needs to get it out before she drives herself crazy. She wants to tell Tony, because…well, because in some ways he does treat her like a daughter. He ruffles her hair and calls her kid, and he told her a couple of days ago in the lab that she was like a mini-tank. It’s a compliment, because Jo is awesome, but Darcy doesn’t want to be a Tank. Jo’s been training her, along with Natasha, how to fight. Yeah, knowing how to protect herself is cool and all, but they’ve moved on to offensive techniques. Darcy doesn’t want to play offense. As for Thor, he looks after her. He tucks her into bed sometimes, and she can still see the tears that drenched his face when he thought she was dead. He calls her a little warrior, but she doesn’t want to be a warrior.

“Everything okay, kid?” Tony and Jo are holding hands, fingers laced together and everything, and they really do look like weirdly matched parents.

“I’ve, uh, made a decision. About my future,” she said with a little nod. Jo turned to Tony, and Tony looked at Jo with a raised eyebrow.

“Do you think she’s trying to leave the nest?” Jo whispered.

“She doesn’t have a flying suit,” Tony whispered back.

“What decision have you made, Darcy?” Thor asked her. Right, she made a decision. A decision that is very important to her.

“I don’t want to be a fighter. I’m not like you guys,” she said and made sure to look each of them in the eye. Tony fights because he wants to save people, to make up for all the death and destruction that his name caused. Jo fights because that’s just what she’s good at. Thor fights because it’s his duty, his responsibility, as a god and leader.

“No one expects you to—” Darcy raised a hand, and Jo stopped talking.

“No one has said it, but I can see it. The training, the nicknames, the looks…I’ve got some super strength and regeneration stuff, so the logical conclusion is that I should fight. I should help you, but I’m not a fighter. Never have been, and I don’t want to change. I know that I’m a mutant now, but I’m still just Darcy. I majored in political science, I cry when I watch Disney movies, and I don’t want to kill anyone.”

All three of them kept their eyes on her during her little speech, and she could see just a little bit of guilt in their eyes. She doesn’t want them to feel guilty; she just wants them to understand. She’s not tough like them, despite her new abilities. She’s the same girl she’s always been. They all looked down at her last statement, and Darcy wished she was a telepath for just a moment. Are they thinking about the people they’ve killed? Their battles? Because _that_ look is in their eyes, the one that she never wants to have.

“You’re right, Darcy. We should have asked you what you wanted,” Jo finally said. The other mutant is smiling at her, but there’s still a dark look in her eyes.

“I just don’t want to let any of you down,” she whispered.

“Fear not, Darcy. You could never let us down. No matter which path you take, I am proud of you.” Thor’s words nearly had her tearing up, and she shifted a little on her feet as she looked at Tony. He’s the only one that hasn’t said anything yet.

“You minored in business, right?” Okay, not exactly what she was expecting.

“Yeah. Why am I not surprised that you know that?” Is there anything left that Tony hasn’t hacked into?

“Pepper’s been looking for an assistant, but everyone she’s interviewed has fallen short. I can’t just give you the job, Pepper’s the CEO, but I can get you an interview. If you’re interested,” Tony said with a little shrug. For a second, she thought he was trying to get rid of her. Then she saw the way his fingers twitched between Jo’s and the little bit of worry in his eyes. Does she want to assist the CEO of a billion dollar company?

“An interview sounds good to me, and it beats watching you mumble to yourself all day.” She said it with a smile, and she watched as Tony’s shoulders relaxed. She was still smiling when Thor surged to his feet, and she squealed as the god picked her up and spun her around. She could hear him laughing and congratulating her, and she kept catching glimpses of Tony and Jo smiling as she was spun around in circles.

“Master Stark.” Thor slowly came to a stop, and Darcy’s vision was a little dizzy.

“Yeah, JARVIS?”

“Captain Rogers is requesting everyone’s presence in the dining room.” Darcy was standing again, but she was holding onto Thor’s arm to keep from falling.

“We better not keep him waiting then,” Tony said and got up. Jo was tugged up with him, since they’re still holding hands, and Darcy smiled over at them. Her strange little family. Tony ruffled her hair as they walked past, and Jo winked at her. Everything’s going to be okay.

“Bruce!” Jo skipped away from Tony to join the doctor at the elevator, and Darcy lightly patted Tony’s shoulder when he started pouting. Jo popped up onto her toes to kiss Bruce’s cheek, and she had one arm looped through the doctor’s. Once they were close enough, she snagged Tony’s hand and laced their fingers together again.

“Shall we?” Darcy squinted as she looked up at Thor, and she looped her arm through his as they walked into the elevator. They went straight to the dining room, and the first thing Darcy saw was Pepper and Natasha sitting side-by-side at the head of the table. Clint was standing behind Natasha’s chair and had his hands braced against the top of it. On the far side of the table, Maria was talking to Steve and some guy with sunglasses that Darcy didn’t recognize.

“Remy?! What are you doing here?!” Jo was paused just inside the doorway, still holding onto Tony and Bruce, and the dude with the sunglasses looked away from Maria to face her.

“Is that any way to greet an old friend, le char?” The dude was smiling, so that’s a good sign. Right? Jo seemed to shift a little, but she’s smiling. Just a little.

“Depends. Are you here as a friend?” The guy crossed his arms, and he is really stacked. Not Thor-stacked, but he isn’t a little guy. He’s almost as tall as Steve too, and Darcy really wished that she could see behind his dark sunglasses. Who wears sunglasses inside?

“’Fraid not. I came here to get some help.” Oh, that is so not good. No one comes to the Avengers for simple help, so this is a team meeting.

“You gonna introduce us?” Tony not-so-quietly whispered. Jo just blinked at him, like she was processing the words, and then slowly nodded her head.

“Right. This is Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Thor, and Darcy. Meet Remy LeBeau. What happened?” Jo said quickly. Tony squeezed her hand before moving to sit next to Pepper, and Darcy tugged Thor over to some seats. Jo stayed standing, and Bruce stayed next to her since their arms were still linked.

“I’ll let Agent Hill explain,” the guy, Remy, said with a tight smile. All eyes turned to Maria, and the agent squared her shoulders before she started talking.

“This morning, SHIELD got two separate requests. Victor von Doom is looking for the Fantastic Four, and he is getting too close for comfort. The Fantastic Four are building specially made cells for each escaped prisoner that is found, and they can’t do that and stop Doom. The second request came from the X-Men. Some of their students have recently gone missing, and it’s suspected that they’re being held by Arcade in China.”

“Murderworld?” Jo asked. That doesn’t even sound remotely pleasant, and who has a name like Victor von Doom?

“Murderworld,” Remy sighed.

“What’s that?” She could feel the guy looking at her even through those ridiculous sunglasses, but she’s not taking the question back.

“It’s something of Arcade’s own design. An amusement park filled with traps specifically designed to execute whoever is inside. He took some of the kids?” Jo had looked at Darcy for the first part of the explanation, but she was looking at Remy now.

“They were on a trip, traveling for the summer. When they didn’t come back yesterday, the Professor went lookin’.” Remy has an accent similar to Jo’s, but it’s a little thicker. His tone is lower and his words come out slower.

“So, what’s our plan?” Tony asked. Steve looked at Maria, and they seemed to have a silent conversation. Is everyone in this house trying to become a little telepathic?

“Maria and I discussed who would be best suited for each task, and we think we have it,” Steve said and looked around at all of them.

“Lay it on us,” Clint said when things had been quiet for a little too long.

“Ironman and Eris will go to Greenland and meet up with Thing and the Human Torch. Hawkeye, Thor, and Hulk will assist Gambit in China. Gambit has the coordinates,” Maria said quickly. Gambit, that must be Remy’s codename.

“I thought I wasn’t allowed in China?” Clint got kicked out of a country? How do you get kicked out of a country?

“What the Chinese government doesn’t know won’t hurt them. This is an extraction. If you can catch Arcade, great. If you can’t, we’ll worry about him another day.” Clint nodded at Maria’s words, but Darcy still wants to know why the Chinese government banned him.

“What about me?” Natasha asked. Maria didn’t mention Natasha or Steve when she called out the assignments. (She didn’t mention Darcy either, but that’s because Darcy isn’t an agent.)

“You and Steve are to report to DC, SHIELD headquarters. Trust me, we’ve got plenty for you to do.” Maria isn’t smiling, per se, but she does look a little amused. There’s a twinkle in her eye.

“Alright, you heard the lady. It’s time to get to work,” Steve said. Darcy looked around and realized that everyone was about to be gone, except for her and Pepper. Looks like she decided fighting wasn’t her thing just in time, but she’s already worrying about all of them. What if something happens to them while they’re gone?

The room slowly emptied, until Darcy was sitting alone in the dining room. She didn’t like the look of the empty room, but it won’t be empty forever. They’ll leave and do what they do best, and then they’ll come home. They’ll all come home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this chapter had a good balance to it. Humor, a bit of seriousness, and a small cliffhanger! The other person mentioned, Remy/Gambit, is a mutant from the X-Men Universe; feel free to google him. He’s in my top ten favorite X-Men, so I had to bring him in. If there’s any questions, let me know!


	26. The Same Ol' Killer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _new beginnings_   
>  _are often disguised_   
>  _as painful endings_   
>  **Lao Tzu**   
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small Warning: There’s a lot of flashbacks in this one, so try to keep the dates in mind.

“This is the worst kind of timing,” Jo groaned as she pulled out her old green duffel. 

“It is?” Bruce is sitting on the end of her bed, because she asked him to stay with her while she packed, and Jo looked over her shoulder at him. 

“We just had a big fight, and then there was all the…well, you were there,” she mumbled. The past two days have been an emotional rollercoaster, and she was really looking forward to things going back to normal. Breakfast with everyone, spending time with Darcy and Tony, lunch with Bruce, working on her mental voice while ogling Bruce, cooking dinner with Steve, scrubbing grease out of Tony’s hair, and then collapsing in bed with Bruce at the end of the day. She wants that back. 

“This shouldn’t take too long,” Bruce said as she stuffed some more clothes into her duffel. She’s got the super suit now, so she’s packing leggings to go under it. She’ll need jeans for the other times though, when she’s around normal people. Well, the Fantastic Four aren’t exactly normal, but still. 

“Hey, you’re not worried about Johnny, are you?” She’s sitting on the floor of her closet, so she can see Bruce if she leans to the side. He doesn’t look particularly worried, but she can feel his thoughts shifting around. 

“Should I be?” It was asked with a small smile, and Jo rolled her eyes where he could see before going back to packing. She has more of Tony’s shirts in her closet than she realized. 

“Of course not. Johnny’s just a good friend, and I really want this to work. I want us to work.”

“Me too.” His voice was a lot closer, and Jo tipped her head back to meet his eyes. He’s standing in her closet doorway, and he looks just a little too delicious for her to pass up. She reached up to pull on the bottom of his shirt, and she saw a flash of his smile as she pulled him down on top of her. Packing can wait for a few minutes.

**.xXx.**

“Darcy?” Tony is tossing random pieces of clothing out of his closet, and Pepper is meticulously folding them and placing them in a suitcase. He told her she didn’t have to fold anything, but Pepper just ignored him.

“She’s a great assistant. Picks up on things pretty fast, great listener…I bet if we tested her IQ, it’d be genius level.” He said it in a slightly teasing tone, but he means that. Darcy interned for an astrophysicist, and she’s been helping him for a little over a month. Her mind seems to absorb information; Tony’s pretty sure that she’s an actual genius. 

“But you want me to interview her first?” Tony walked out of his closet, because he’s thrown out enough clothes to last for a few days, and he sat down on the bed next to where Pepper was folding. 

“Seemed like the most fair thing to do,” Tony shrugged. He should have seen this coming; Darcy may have Jo’s cuddlier traits, but she isn’t a fighter like Jo is. She can fight with her words, Tony has seen her sass up close on more than one occasion, but she’s not a physical fighter. 

“Why the change?” Pepper’s eyes flicked over to him, and he squared his shoulders. 

“Darcy got her doctorate in political science while working with Dr. Foster and stopped at a master degree in business. She could really do some good with the company, instead of wasting her potential in my lab. Engineering isn’t her passion.” Pepper placed the last folded shirt into his suitcase, and Tony let his forehead press against her stomach as soft hands smoothed up his neck and disappeared into his hair. 

“You really do care about her.” Tony and Jo both joke about Darcy being their daughter, but Tony’s pretty sure that they both mean it. Darcy is young and innocent compared to them, and there’s nothing that neither of them wouldn’t do for her. 

“Yeah, I do,” he sighed. 

“I’ll look after her while you’re gone, I promise,” Pepper whispered. The timing for this could not be any worse; he just proposed to Pepper, they’re finally getting their lives back on track, and now he has to leave. “Now you promise me that you’ll be careful out there.”

“I promise to be careful, and Jo will be there.” Tony’s sure that Jo would jump between him and an explosion; the thought is both terrifying and comforting. 

“I just want both of you to come home.” Tony looked up, so that his chin was lightly pressing into Pepper’s stomach instead, and smiled. 

“You like her.” Tony knows that Pepper likes Jo. Pepper doesn’t have a problem with Jo practically bathing him, so she has to like the other woman. 

“She saved you, and she loves you. How could I not like her?” Tony’s glad that the two women get along, because he can’t imagine having to choose between them. The way he feels for them is so different that choosing would be impossible. 

“So, think we have enough time to say goodbye before someone comes looking for us?” Pepper’s laugh was light and warm, and this is what Tony is going to remember when he’s gone. Well, this and what comes after.

**.xXx.**

Despite taking a timeout to roll around on her closet floor, Jo and Bruce were the first ones back downstairs. The only person waiting in the dining room was Remy, and Jo squeezed Bruce’s hand a little as they walked into the room. She explained who Remy was a little more while Bruce packed, and she tried not to leave anything out. Remy is a friend, even if he did get off to a rocky start with the X-Men. A thief from her home state, really good with violence, and a pair of red eyes hiding behind sunglasses. He’s good with energy. To be more specific, good with making things explode using energy. She’s been on the receiving end of one of his cards, and it’s not a pleasant sensation. Remy’s a good guy now, and he’s been dating Anna Marie for the past few years. Three, actually. It makes things between Remy and Logan a little tense sometimes, but Jo thinks they’re cute together.

“So, does Logan know you’re datin’ the Hulk?” She could feel Bruce shifting next to her, because he told her about Hulk running into Logan in some woods near Toronto. 

“It’s just Hulk, I’m dating Bruce, and he knows,” Jo said with a little shrug. She dropped her duffel onto the dining room table, and Bruce carefully sat his suitcase on the floor. Remy raised a brow at her, and Jo had to resist the urge to cross her arms. Holding Bruce’s hand helped with the urge. 

“You actually called him and told him?” He’s laughing at her; she can tell. 

“I sent him a text,” she confessed. Remy threw his head back in a laugh, and this time Jo squeezed Bruce’s hand to keep from socking the asshole right on the jaw. “It’s not that funny!”

“Explains his mood,” Remy said as the laughter died down. At her confused look, he raised his hands and gentled his smile. “Don’t look at me like that, le char. You know the old man better than any of us. You’ll always be his little girl.”

“I do know him better, which means I know that he needs time to process things. I’ll call him when I’m good and ready,” Jo said. She loves Logan, she really does, but he has a tendency to be a little rash sometimes. He actually punched Johnny the first time they met. 

“So, Banner, she treatin’ you good?” 

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“She treats me the best,” Bruce said and smiled over at her. That’s the kind of smile that makes her insides all fluttery, and one little smile should not be able to do that. 

“Are we late?” Jo looked over her shoulder as Tony and Pepper walked in, and she smiled. Well, looks like her and Bruce weren’t the only ones that said a proper goodbye. She’d recognize that glow anywhere. Wait…is she glowing?

“Right on time,” Clint said as he walked inside. Darcy was right behind him, and she was carrying Jade. Thor was right behind her, and the god was in his usual battle gear. It’s a good look. Jo’s a little jealous of the red cape; how can anyone look that good in a red cape?

“Everyone packed?” Maria walked in next, with Steve and Natasha behind her. 

“I’ve got two jets on standby,” Tony said and smiled over at the agent. 

“And my suit?” Jo asked him. He patted one of his cases, so they’re all covered. Jo kissed Bruce’s cheek before letting go of his hand, and she walked over to Darcy. She felt Tony’s arm brush hers, and Darcy looked back and forth between them. 

“I expect both of you back in the same condition you left in,” she finally said. 

“I think we can manage that. You just take care of yourself while we’re gone,” Jo said and leaned forward to give her a hug. 

“And no wild parties. We’ll know, no matter how much you clean,” Tony said as he hugged her. Jo let her thoughts touch against Tony’s, and they both reached forward to rest a hand on her shoulders. 

“We love you, kid.” Darcy reached up with the hand not holding a chicken to grip Tony’s wrist and leaned her cheek against the top of Jo’s hand. 

“I love you too. Now, go kick some Doom ass.” They both hugged her, just one more time, and then moved back over to Bruce and Pepper so she could say her goodbyes to Thor. 

“You okay?” Bruce whispered once she was back at his side. 

“Yeah, I just hate having to split up. It’ll probably just be for a couple of days, right?” She can hear everyone talking around her, but she’s mostly focused on Bruce right now. She’s really going to miss him. 

“Probably,” Bruce agreed. 

“Cars are here!” Tony called out. Two cars were waiting outside, one headed for the airfield and the other to DC. Maria, Steve, and Natasha got into one car while all the others piled into the other car. Jo tried not to look back at Pepper and Darcy, standing alone in front of the mansion, but she couldn’t help looking over her shoulder. Just one more time. 

Tony drove, with Clint in the passenger seat, so Jo sat in the back with everyone else. She was mostly plastered against Bruce’s side and idly running her fingers through the back of his hair while Remy told them more about Arcade. Jo never had to fight him, not that fighting him is the problem. Arcade doesn’t have any kind of superpower, except for a high intelligence. No, it’s his creations that are the problems. Jo knows that he’s killed his fair share of people by trapping them in the macabre amusement parks, and she’s worried about the kids. They might not be kids that she personally knows, but they’re like her. Just some mutant kids that wanted to see a little bit of the world, and it all went horribly wrong. 

“See you soon?” The car ride went by too fast, and she really doesn’t want to say goodbye. She’s got a job to do though; all she has to do is kick Victor von Doom’s ass, again, and then she can come home. 

“Sooner than soon,” she replied with a smile. They’re on a tight schedule, so Jo barely had time to kiss Bruce goodbye before she was being pushed onto one of Tony’s jets. 

“JARVIS, get us in the air.” Tony’s sitting in the pilot’s seat, and Jo collapsed into one of the seats behind him. They were quiet during takeoff, and Jo waited until they were streaking through the air before standing up. 

"So, uh, before we get there...we should talk. I kinda dated Johnny Storm, for a little while. For a year.”

“What?!” It’s gonna be a long ride.

**.xXx.**

“It’s so quiet with everyone gone.” Darcy’s voice was quiet, but it still echoed just a little in the foyer. Pepper’s bare feet made a little sound on the tiled floor, and Darcy tipped her head just the tiniest bit to meet the other woman’s eyes. She still doesn’t know what to make of Pepper sometimes. Tony loves her. Jo trusts her. She can’t be that bad, right?

“Then let’s make some noise, hmm?” The redhead’s smile had a little bit of mischief in it, and Darcy raised a brow. Maybe this won’t be so bad after all.

**.xXx.**

“Alright, guys, we’re going in under the radar so it might take a little while. Get some rest while you can,” Clint announced. He’s their pilot, because he’s the only one of them that knows how to operate a jet. Bruce scooted down in his seat just a little, to get more comfortable, and closed his eyes.

“You don’t have to worry about Jo.” When Bruce looked over, Remy was slumped in his seat and looked like he was sleeping. It was hard to tell because of the sunglasses. 

“I’m not worried about Jo.” He knows that Jo is a capable fighter, and she’s not fighting alone. 

“You sure ‘bout that? I know where she’s goin’.” _Oh_. No, Bruce isn’t worried about that either. He trusts Jo, completely. 

“I trust her,” Bruce said simply. Remy hummed but didn’t say anything else, so Bruce closed his eyes again.

**January 2007**

_Regeneration. It’s a fancy way of saying that she heals up real quick, but she doesn’t always get to choose what regenerates. She can slow down her healing or force it to speed up if she wants to, but the only thing that heals is what her body considers to be a wound. Gun shots? Heal. Broken bones? Heal. An exploding fucking arrow in her throat? Heal. A shaved head? No heal. It’s been a little over two months since she was rescued (it was a rescue, it was), and her hair has grown just a little over an inch. The light brown strands are soft to the touch, but it’s not enough._

_Everything about her is wrong. When she speaks, she doesn’t recognize the gravel tone of her own voice. When she looks in the mirror, she flinches back from the angry dark eyes and the sharp jut of her bones. Whenever she relaxes, even if only for a moment, voices swarm into her mind until she starts to drown. Every part of her is tense, her mind is an angry snarl under a constant attack, and she jumps with every little movement. That one agent, Clint Barton, he helps. He treats her like she’s just another person, but that’s because he doesn’t know. He didn’t know her before, so he doesn’t know that she’s wrong._

_The Professor knew. When she stepped off the plane in New York, behind Logan and Anna Marie, he was waiting for them. Maybe it’s because he’s a better telepath than her (it’s wrong), but he knew she wanted to run. She was never going to go back to the school; she can’t sleep in the same place where the old her slept, because it’s wrong. She’s not the same person; something is missing. (She’s still missing.) The Professor sent her away, to someone that could help her. Dizzy Mears was a telepath and completely insane, and the woman made her feel like she was being buried alive. Kept pushing her to learn control, to learn some new tricks, but she doesn’t want to learn. So Dizzy taught her how to put blocks in her mind, to keep the voices out, and threw her out. Told her not to come back until she got over herself and was ready to really learn._

_She brought in the New Year with Dizzy, but she’s not hiding out in the mountains anymore. Clint found her, wandering around in a country that she couldn’t pronounce. He’d grabbed her hand from the shadows and pulled her into a warehouse that should’ve been condemned, and they danced. There was no music, so they took turns humming and singing, and it’s the closest she’s come to peace in a really long time. She needed to get back to New York, to Logan and Anna Marie, but she’s still not herself. They knew her, but she doesn’t know who she is now. Clint offered her a job, with SHIELD, and she took it. Logan doesn’t really trust SHIELD, says they just want to use mutants to do their dirty work, but maybe she needs a distraction._

_The guy they’ve put her with is only a few years older than her, and he’s new to the whole superpower thing. He’s got the control part down, but he’s still learning. He wants to use his powers to help people, so he asked Fury for a job. (That was her end game, before. Travel around a bit and then return to the school, to offer her abilities to the Professor. To help others like her.) She doesn’t like Johnny Storm. He’s loud, too loud to be any kind of undercover agent, and he won’t stop laughing. Mostly at her. He doesn’t know who she used to be. Doesn’t understand that her short hair wasn’t a choice, that she’s tense because she doesn’t want to hear anything, and that she’s angry because those doctors took something away from her when they added the telepathy. They might as well have killed her, because she can’t even recognize herself._

_“You gotta lighten up, Holbrook,” Johnny said as he tossed himself backwards onto the bed. Honeymooners. They’re supposed to be newlyweds. Who honeymoons in Greenland? The resort is nice, but she hates the cold._

_“Don’t use that name, you idiot! We’re—”_

_“Yeah, yeah, I know, but there’s no one else around. Tell it to me straight.” He’s twisted around now so that he’s lying with his head at the foot of bed, and his feet keep bouncing off the headboard. She’s sitting in a chair, so that she can look out the window. She doesn’t like the look in his blue eyes. “Have you ever smiled in your life? Like, ever?”_

_“I’ll smile at your funeral. Big grin. Teeth and all,” she promised and looked away from him. Her cheeks are still sunken in, because she can’t seem to keep food down. Everything tastes like…ashes. Before, her cheeks were round. There’s a dimple in her left cheek when she really smiles. Is it still there?_

_“Such a downer.”_

**February 2007**

_“It’s not my fault, you know,” she said with a little giggle. More of a chuckle. It would have been a giggle, before, but her voice is too rough for such a delicate sound now._

_“What’s not?” Johnny asked with a laugh of his own. They went to a party that the resort hosted, and they were able to get some more information on the other guests. There were drinks, a lot of drinks, and she can’t remember the last time she felt this light._

_“The…grr-ness. Not my fault,” she clarified. They’re walking down the hallway, weaving and leaning against each other, but they’re almost to their room now._

_“Whose fault is it? I’ll fight ‘em!” Johnny yelled as he tripped through their doorway. She followed in after him and leaned against the closed door. Johnny is sprawled out on the floor, but he twisted around so that he’s lying on his back and looking up at her._

_“Can’t. They’re all locked up now, and it serves ‘em right! Locked us up, didn’t they? I hope someone is cuttin’ into ‘em. Chippin’ off pieces of ‘em. ‘Til they can’t even recognize themselves anymore. That’s a fittin’ punishment for ‘em. The bastards.” Johnny’s eyes had widened throughout her slurred speech, and she can see it in his eyes. The recognition._

_“The facility that SHIELD took down a few months ago. The one that was experimenting on humans and mutants. You were there?” Her arms wrapped around her ribcage, and she’s still too thin. Too tense. Too angry._

_“You would’ve liked me, before. I was nicer. I smiled more. Everyone told me I had pretty hair.” They took it all away from her. She heals, she always heals, but not this. Not her hair. Not her ruined body. Not her changed brain. Johnny sat up and reached for her, and she let her palms slide against his. She’s still stronger than a human, but she doesn’t have the same strength she used to._

_“I know you now.” Johnny pulled down on her until she was kneeling in front of him, knees between his spread thighs, and his hands are hot against her cold skin. She’s always cold here. “And I like your hair.”_

_“Liar.” It’s said with a sob hidden behind a laugh, and Johnny reached up to rub a hand across the top of her head. Her hair has grown about two and a half inches now, but it’s not enough._

_“It’s soft,” Johnny said with a smile. She felt like crying, but she learned that crying doesn’t help anything. So she leaned forward to thank Johnny with a kiss, that never really seemed to end._

**July 2007**

_“Can you believe them?” She’s spread out across a bed and popping bites of pizza into her mouth. Johnny is spread out next to her, and she can feel his bare skin sliding against hers every time he reaches for the pizza box._

_“They made a few good points.” She huffed, but he’s not wrong. Their undercover mission was a distraction, so that Clint and Natasha could actually sneak in and get the bad guys. According to Clint, that’s a good thing because her and Johnny suck at the undercover thing. (Natasha made a remark about it being a good thing they actually started sleeping together or the case would’ve completely fallen apart.)_

_“I think we were an okay team,” she said and smiled over at him. They were a horrible team, because neither of them are good at lying or at being subtle. Still, these last few months have really helped her. Johnny’s been good to her. He holds her when she wakes up from her nightmares and then chases the thoughts away with his heat. The first time he fed her while they were in bed, she tasted cherries instead of ashes. Her curves are starting to come back, and her hair is growing. It’s close to her chin now._

_“We’re definitely compatible,” he agreed. Johnny makes her laugh, which is something she forgot how to do for a while. She’s not sure if they’ll work out in the real world, outside of their undercover bubble, but she’s willing to try._

_“So, you’re done with SHIELD work.” Johnny sighed and rolled onto his back, and she hooked a foot over his leg._

_“Yeah, I’m done. You?” She met his eyes, his pretty blue eyes, and shrugged a little._

_“They promised no more undercover work, so I think I’ll stick with it. Just for a little while.” She’s still not who she used to be, but there’s echoes of that girl in her now._

_“And when you’re not working?” Johnny’s smile was teasing and beautiful, and she laughed as he rolled on top of her. Maybe this can work._

**November 2007**

_“Your sister hates me,” she whispered. She’s joining the Fantastic Four for Thanksgiving dinner, and Johnny’s sister has mastered the art of glaring. (It’s nothing compared to Natasha’s glare. Or Fury’s. Or Logan’s even. But she wants this to work.)_

_“She doesn’t hate you. She just…we hear the rumors, you know. Tank, really?” Johnny’s looking at her with an eyebrow raised, because they’re hiding in his bedroom. Susan Storm had said she didn’t need any help with the cooking, so she ran. And Johnny ran with her._

_“It wasn’t my idea.” She kinda likes the nickname, actually. Before leaving school, they gave her the name Eris. For chaos. The Tank imagery is a little bit more fun._

_“Have you earned it?” They call her Tank because she rolls over her enemies and leaves nothing but broken bodies behind her. It took a couple of months, but they found her specialty. She doesn’t like weapons and she sucks at being a spy, but she’s really good at killing. Too good._

_“Little bit,” she admitted. Johnny sighed, but he still shuffled his feet over to her. The heat of him always calms her down, and she buried her face against his neck. Johnny doesn’t like that she kills people, so they don’t talk about her SHIELD assignments. When they’re together, it’s just the two of them._

_“Love you,” he whispered into her hair. She tightened her fingers in the fabric of his shirt and took a slow breath._

_“Love you too. Now, let’s go see if we can set the table or something. Anything to get me into Sue’s good graces.”_

_“Maybe you should start by not calling her Sue?”_

**April 2008**

_“Why’d you do it?” Jo felt her arms tensing at the quiet words; she’s pretty sure that she’s never heard Johnny sound that quiet. It’s not in his nature._

_“They were mercenaries, Johnny. They were hired to kill Reed. Not to kidnap him and talk about their big plan just long enough for the rest of you to show up and save him. They were going to kill him.” She showered, scrubbed herself down twice, but her hands are itchy. Like they’re still covered in dried blood._

_“You could have just subdued them. You didn’t have to—”_

_“Didn’t have to what?” She’s standing now, so that only their bed is standing between them._

_“Kill them. You didn’t have to kill them.” His eyes looked away from hers as he said it, and Jo felt her hands clenching into fists at her sides._

_“Those were my orders.” SHIELD gave her orders, and she followed them. She did as she was told. “Don’t look so surprised. You’ve always known what I do. Like this is the first time?”_

_“I didn’t want to see it!” His eyes are so bright, and the room feels a little bit hotter._

_“So you can know about it as long as it doesn’t affect you?! Is that it?! We’re supposed to be partners! My burdens are yours and all that! Remember?!”_

_“Reed asked you not to. I asked you not to! You didn’t have to do that!”_

_“Maybe I wanted to!” She just took on a dozen mercenaries for these people; parts of her body are still sore from gunshots, and all she wanted was to forget about it all for a little while with Johnny. Instead he’s attacking her._

_“I know that place really fucked you up, but—”_

_“Yes, it fucked me up! But I’m not some kind of monster! They wanted to hurt Reed, to hurt you, so I took care of it! What’s so wrong with that?!” She caught a flash of disappointment in Johnny’s eyes before he could look away, and Jo just couldn’t stop the anger that was crawling up her throat. “The least you can do is look at me!”_

_“I don’t even know who I’m looking at!”_

_“The same girl you’ve been looking at for the past year!” They’re staring each other down now, breathing hard, and Jo’s starting to sweat from the heat in the room._

_“Dammit, Jo, I love you! But not like this!” The words feel like a slap, and Jo actually took a step back. Not like this…he loves her, but not the killing part of her. Too bad for him, that’s pretty much all she is these days. They don’t call her the Tank because she cuddles her enemies into submission. She’s a killer. A killer._

_“You love the idea of me. You think I’m just some broken little girl that you can save? That you can fix? This is who I am! When I’m not with you, I’m out killing someone! If you can’t accept that, can’t accept me…”_

_“What?! Don’t stop there! Finish it!” Jo marched around the end of the bed until she was within grabbing distance, and she reached up to place her hands on either side of his face. His beautiful face, that’s twisted in anger. Anger at her. At them._

_“I use this hands to kill, and I’m very good at it. I’m not gonna stop, Johnny, just because you don’t like it. Can you deal with that? Or am I wasting my time here?”_

_“Jo.” His hands twisted in her hair and pulled hard enough to make her eyes prick with tears, and his kiss was so rough that she tasted blood when he pulled back._

_“Say it, Johnny. You gotta say it,” she whispered. His forehead is pressed against hers, they’re pressed together from chest to knee, and she’s holding onto his shoulders so tight that her fingers are starting to hurt._

_“Goodbye, Jo.” She wants to cry, she can feel the need to scream clawing at the bottom of her throat, but not here. She tore herself away from Johnny before she caved in and swore to never kill again, and she grabbed her bag from the closet. Her bag that’s always packed, ready to be picked up so she can move on. It’s been a little over a year, but she’s always been ready to go._

_“Goodbye, Johnny.”_

**December 2008**

_“What do you want, Johnny?” She’s sitting on top of the Statue of Liberty, watching the lights under her and tipping her head back to look at the stars. (Tony Stark is hidden in a cave, with an ache in his chest that never goes away and plotting his escape. Bruce Banner is in South America, trying desperately to be good and to find a cure. Darcy Lewis is sitting in a bedroom alone, headphones blaring to keep her focused on a mixture of high school work and college essays.)_

_“Can’t let you spend your birthday alone, can I? Even though we’ll never top last year.” Jo laughed, a quiet and feeble thing, and resisted the urge to look at him. She got to spend her twenty-first birthday with Johnny Storm, and it was a good night. A night that she’ll never forget, even though thinking about him hurts sometimes._

_“I’m getting used to being alone, and it’s just another day.” She felt Johnny sit down next to her, even though he never actually touched her. The heat of him is almost like a physical thing._

_“It’s the celebration of your birth.” He knocked his foot against hers, and she felt herself tense._

_“Yeah? And who’s going to celebrate that?” Her eyes met his, and she felt like jumping. It probably won’t kill her, but it’s still tempting. It’s been a rough few months since she left Johnny._

_“The people that love you.” She snorted, just as indelicately as always, and let her head fall back. Logan and Anna Marie tell her that they love her, but it’s been a long time since she saw either of them. She doesn’t want them to see her; to see who she is now, because they know who she used to be. She thinks that Clint loves her, sometimes, when they’re dancing. It’s a fleeting thing, just when their hands are touching, and she’s always alone after the music stops._

_“Not many of those left.” Sometimes, she’s worried that she made a mistake. Maybe she never should have left that day. She can’t give up the SHIELD assignments though. Having a job to do, some kind of purpose, is the only thing that keeps her sane most days. She loved Johnny, probably still does, but it wasn’t enough._

_“I’m still here.” She looked over at him, with her head still tipped back, and he smiled at her. Not one of the smiles that was aimed at her with the purpose of getting her into bed; it was one of his rare smiles, that just wanted to let her know that he meant what he said._

_“Are we going to be friends now?” she asked with a smile of her own._

_“Why not? If other couples can pull it off, we definitely can.” Johnny’s smile has always been infectious, and the pulling muscles on her face feel foreign. It’s been a while since she smiled this much._

_“I haven’t changed, you know. I’m still the same ol’ killer I’ve always been.” When she was younger, her mother told her that her strength would help her protect others. Like a brave knight. It’s a good thing her mother can’t see what she’s become._

_“Yeah, I know. So, friends?” He looks so hopeful, and Jo’s never been able to resist a pretty face._

_“I guess we can try it out.” Johnny whooped, loud enough to get a small laugh out of her, and she didn’t tense up when he threw an arm around her shoulders. Friends. Yeah, maybe that could work. She could use some more friends._

**June 2011**

_She was sitting out on the balcony, one leg thrown over the railing, and looking up at the sky. There’s something about the sky that just calms her, at any point. Fluffy blue clouds, dark storm clouds, shining stars…all of it is comforting to her. Puts her at peace. She was in the same place when she heard the balcony door open, and she tore her eyes away from the sky to smile at the owner of the balcony she was currently perched on._

_“I retired, officially. I’m done. I’m free.” She worked for SHIELD for five years, and she never once complained. She’s not a model agent, true, but she always got the job done. Now it’s time for her to rest._

_“Did you sneak up here to win me back, Holbrook?” The years have barely touched Johnny at all; he stills looks just as good as he did on that first job, in Greenland. A smirk on his face and a promise in his blue eyes. Falling back in love with Johnny would probably be easy, like diving into water, but it’s too late for that._

_“Our ship sailed long ago, and caught fire. I’m here, as a friend, to ask another friend his thoughts on Amsterdam?” Her smiles have been coming easier, like a weight has been lifted off of her._

_“Amsterdam, huh? That’s how we’re gonna celebrate your retirement?” Johnny braced his hands on the railing next to where her foot is keeping her balanced, and she dropped her chin onto her upraised knee as he smiled at her._

_“Just a thought. You can always say no,” she shrugged._

_“Well, as your friend, I can’t let you go alone.” The feeling that’s wrapping around her is warm, different than what she’s used to, but she likes it. Her only plan is that she has no plan, for the first time in five years, and she’s with a friend._

_“Hey, Johnny?” He met her eyes, and she rose up so that she was sitting with her back straight. “Catch me.”_

_“Dammit, Holbrook!” She was laughing when Johnny caught her in midair a moment later, and the sound came from somewhere under her sternum and echoed in the air around her. She’s free._

**September 1, 2014**

“Doesn’t sound like a simple breakup to me, sweetheart.” Jo narrowed her eyes at him, but Tony’s not taking the statement back. Tony knows breakups, and that one was rough. Jo and Johnny might be friends now, but it’s a lucky thing.

“Okay, so, maybe simple wasn’t the right word. Johnny and I are okay now though. Me and Ben are cool too. It’s the other two that don’t like me so much,” she shrugged. He’s butted heads with Richards a few times over the years. Despite that, he’s always respected the other man. If he says something mean to Jo, Tony might have to kick his ass. No one talks about his bodyguard. 

“Because you killed a few hired killers?” Yeah, it sounds a little bad no matter how he says it. None of them are sparkling clean, and he’s not going to judge Jo for her past. Or her present. Or anything she might do in the future. 

“That’s Reed’s biggest problem with me, yeah. Sue mostly dislikes me because I broke her brother’s heart, which is kinda ridiculous. Maybe it wasn’t the easiest breakup in the world, but we both moved on. Johnny got over it, so I don’t know why Sue can’t,” Jo huffed and crossed her arms. Looks like his all-powerful bodyguard is pouting. 

“Family thing?” He’s obviously going to take Jo’s side if anything comes up, but he’s not going to lie to Jo now. 

“I guess. Don’t you do that honorable defending thing if one of them says something. I can handle myself just fine.” They’ll be landing soon, and the Fantastic Four will be there to meet them. 

“And pass up the opportunity to fight for you for a change? I don’t think so.” She rolled her eyes at his wide smile, but he’s actually serious. If Jo can put herself between certain danger and him, he can at least make sure that no one badmouths her. 

“Hey, we’re fighting together this time, remember? Teamwork and all that.” Her hand went in a circle as her wrist rolled, and she looks so peaceful. Like they’re not about to meet up with her ex and people who think of her as some kind of murdering monster. Not to mention the going after Doom thing. 

“How do you think the others are doing?” he asked her. It’s not easy for him to be away from Pepper, so he can’t imagine it’s easy for her and Bruce. Especially since what they have is so new. 

“I imagine they’re sitting around, telling old war stories, and sneaking into China because Clint doesn’t know what subtlety is. Then again, that was mostly Uncle Wade’s fault.”

“And what is that?” How does one get banned from an entire country?

“Classified.” Jo’s smile dimpled her left cheek, and it was Tony’s turn to roll his eyes with a huff. He’ll get it out of her before they go back home. 

“Alright, prepare for landing.”

**.xXx.**

“Ready for your first meeting?” Darcy is standing just outside of her closet and looking into the mirror hanging on the back of the door, and she can see Pepper framed in her bedroom doorway.

“I look ready,” was her answer. She’s wearing a business suit, dark blue pants and jacket with a pale pink blouse under it. Her hair is pinned up behind her, and it looks a lot neater than one of Jo’s sloppy buns. Low heels. Light makeup. 

“You’re going to do fine, Darcy. You’re just observing today.” Pepper’s smile is so gentle and calming; where did she learn to do that? Pepper interviewed her last night, in between baking a lot of cookies and dancing across the foyer in their socks. It was loud, and it was fun. Louder and more fun than she was expecting. She should know better by now; you can’t judge a book by its cover. 

“I know, but I want to do this right.” For herself. For Tony. For Jo and Thor. She wants to make her makeshift family proud of her, and she wants to feel proud of herself too. 

“You will.” Pepper’s hand on her shoulder was a warm light weight, and Darcy met her eyes in the mirror. They all believe in her, and she can hold onto that until she learns how to really believe in herself. (Without reaching Tony’s level of narcissism, of course.)

“Alright, let’s do this!”

**.xXx.**

“Lookin’ good, Holbrook!”

“Never as good as you, Johnny!” He caught her in a hug just as she stepped off the jet platform, and a little bit of the tension she was carrying eased as he spun around twice before setting her on the ground. A rocky hand clapped against her shoulder, and she smiled up at Ben. “Hiya, Grimm. How’s it been?”

“Been good, kid, until recently.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll help you take care of Doom. I can’t believe he got free.”

“We had the same thought, Josephine.” The voice was calm, and Jo felt something near the base of her spine tingle. 

“No need for the passive aggressive, Sue. I haven’t forgotten our last conversation.” It was right after Amsterdam, when she was dropping Johnny off. Susan Storm, because she hadn’t married Reed yet, made sure that Jo knew what she thought of her. None of it was good. 

“There’s no kind of aggression here, Jo,” Reed said with a placating smile. The man has never been a fan of confrontation. 

“Does that mean you’re okay with my…what was it?...lifestyle choices now?” She’s an adult, and those old words don’t hurt the way they used to. Still, confrontation is what she’s good at. 

“We’ll always see things differently, but I am glad to have your help.”

“Good, because I never travel without my bodyguard.” Tony draped an arm around her shoulders as he stopped beside her, and she leaned so that her hip was pressing against him. That’s the boss she knows and loves. 

“Mister Stark. Thank you for coming.” Reed’s so nice, even if they do disagree on some things, and Sue won’t even look at her anymore. Johnny’s wiggling his eyebrows at her. She gives it twenty seconds and he’ll be making kissy faces too. 

“Well, Jo said she likes you four alive, so we decided to come.” Yep, there’s the kissy face. It’s good to know that Johnny hasn’t changed a bit since the last time she saw him. 

“Thank you both.” Sue’s eyes flicked over to her but quickly moved back to Tony. Fair enough. 

“We’re here because we want to help. So, where’s Doom been lurking?”

**.xXx.**

The jet touched down outside of Beijing, near an abandoned amusement park. From what little Bruce could see, it wasn’t even halfway finished before becoming abandoned. The jet was put down in an empty parking lot, and they all took a moment to get ready. Thor and Remy already had what they needed, Clint was packing on weapons, and Bruce stripped down to his Hulk shorts. Once they were ready, Clint opened the platform and led the way out. They didn’t get far.

“Boo!” Clint moved so fast that Bruce could barely track him, raising his bow and firing a shot just as everyone else registered the shout, and a figure fell from the top of the jet. Loud cussing filled the air, and a man jumped to his feet so that he was standing in front of Clint. With an arrow through his head. 

“Hey! You’re banned from here too!” Clint yelled and pointed at the man with his bow. Red suit that completely covers him, a shot through the brain that hasn’t killed him or slowed him down, this has to be…

“Deadpool, what are you doin’ here?” Remy asked. Jo likes to call him Uncle Wade. She hasn’t talked about the older mutant much, just enough for him to know that Jo genuinely cares for him. 

“That ban was totally unfair, for starters. For two, I heard,” he paused to finish pulling the arrow out and tossed it back to Clint before continuing, “that Arcade asshat had some little mutant babies. I’m just here for the children.”

“You could be working for him for all we know,” Clint pointed out. Deadpool gasped and raised his hands to cover his heart, and the mutant is impossible to read. 

“I would never! Well, maybe once, but that was different! Those douche canoes deserved it!”

“We should not turn down a friend,” Thor said quietly. Like Bruce, the god is looking at Deadpool like he’s some kind of undiscovered species. 

“Deadpool ain’t a friend. Isn’t that right?” The mask shifted so that it looked like Deadpool was glaring at Remy, but it sounded like he was humming when he looked back at Clint. 

“C’mon, Clinton, you know I’d never let anyone kill ya. It’d make our little Josie sad, and we can’t have that. Just here to help. Pinky promise.” Deadpool actually extended his pinky finger, and Bruce felt more than a little confused when Clint stepped forward and shook the mercenary’s little finger with his own. Is this something they do regularly?

“That goes for everyone, Uncle Wade. We all come out.”

“Scout’s honor! To the kids!”

“Wait! How long have you been here?!” Clint was following Deadpool into what looked like a replica of a medieval town, and Bruce just shrugged when Thor looked down at him. He doesn’t really know what to make of Deadpool, but Jo trusts him. No, not trust, not completely. Jo loves him, so that will have to do for now. 

“Hitched a ride on the jet!”

“You were on the jet?!”

“Since Spain!” 

“He’s gonna get us all killed,” Remy said with a sigh and started after them. 

“If he cannot be trusted—”

“Jo trusts him,” Bruce said before Thor could finish. It’s a small lie, since Jo said she was never sure just how trustworthy Deadpool was at any given moment. 

“Then we shall have to trust her,” Thor said with a little smile. Bruce nodded and finally got Hulk to stir. It’s time for him to take the backseat now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was pretty long and had a lot in it, so take a moment to let it all sink in. Okay! So, more was revealed about Jo’s past. If there’s any questions about the flashbacks, I’m more than happy to answer! There was a little bit of Darcy, because I can’t leave her out. And Deadpool! He’s going to be around for a few chapters, so you know there’s some fun scenes to come. Thank you to everyone reading!
> 
> Oh! Last time I forgot to put that “le char” is French for “tank.” At least, I think it is. If it’s a bad translation, please let me know and I’ll change it immediately.


	27. An Evil Cackle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _this used to be a funhouse_   
>  _but now it's full of evil clowns_   
>  _it's time to start the countdown_   
>  _i'm gonna burn it down_   
>  **Funhouse by Pink**   
> 

“Sorry about that, Jo,” Johnny whispered once Reed and Sue walked away with Tony. 

"Nothing to apologize for, Johnny. I think it’s kinda sweet, actually.” At Johnny’s confused look, she decided to explain further. “Sue blames me for breaking your heart. Says that I’m a painful reminder every time I come around. She’s just looking after you.”

“She never liked you. Remember Thanksgiving?” Yeah, it’s something that she’ll never forget. Sue has never been shy about letting her displeasure be known. 

“She must have seen what was coming, and she was right.”

“I was the one that dumped you,” Johnny huffed and crossed his arms. 

“Because I didn’t want to change,” Jo pointed out. The others can’t hear them, yet. If they get any louder, she’ll get another death glare from Sue. 

“I shouldn’t have asked you to.” He shrugged when she glanced over at him, and she’s not touching that statement with a ten foot pole. The actual breakup may have been painful and a little messy, but it was for the best. 

“We’ve both moved on,” she said with a shrug of her own. Johnny’s exploits rival Tony’s back in his glory days, and she knows that a few of his flings turned into something a little more serious. Maybe she was Johnny’s first love too, but she’s not his last. 

“I know I have. I’ve been seeing someone for the past six months. Have you moved on at all?”

“Someone agreed to put up with your snoring? And that horrible smell that’s always on your socks?” She’s teasing, but she’s happy for him. Johnny’s her friend, no matter what. 

“Laugh it up, Holbrook, but I know a deflection when I see one.” Johnny slung an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his side, and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “C’mon and tell your old flame all about it.”

“The fire jokes have never been funny.” Johnny just did a little wiggle that shook them both, and Jo crossed her arms. “I just started dating someone. It’s still pretty new, but it’s serious.”

“Please tell me it’s not with that narcissistic asshole.” He’s looking at Tony, of course he is. 

“No, Tony’s engaged and he’s my friend.” She loves him, actually, but not like that. “It’s Bruce Banner.”

“Banner, Banner, I know that name…The Hulk?” She pushed her elbow into his ribs at the sound of a restrained laugh, and he pulled away from her with a groan. 

“It’s just Hulk, and I’m dating Bruce.”

“You would date someone that’s green.”

“We will throw down right here, Johnny.”

“I’m not scared of you, Holbrook!”

“You’re gonna learn the meaning of fear today!” A rocky hand grabbed the back of her shirt and lifted her off the ground, and Johnny’s annoyed face mirrored her own as Ben held them both in the air. 

“Behave, you two. We’ve got a job to do.” Ben set them down, with several feet between them, and they both shuffled a little. 

“Did you just get put in a timeout?!” Tony called out to her. He shouldn’t be enjoying this as much as he is, and she can feel Sue glaring at her. 

“Focus on your science and find Doom!” she yelled back.

**.xXx.**

“I spy…with my little eye…a trapdoor!” Deadpool yelled out. Hulk doesn’t know what to make of the indestructible mercenary either, but he’s been helpful so far.

“I am not jumping down that first,” Clint said and peered inside. 

“None of us should jump in just yet,” Remy said with a glare in Deadpool’s direction. The two mutants were staring each other down again, and Hulk huffed. Kids are being held against their will, and they don’t have time to argue about this. One big green hand swatted at Deadpool, and the mercenary yelped as he fell through the hole in the floor. 

“Hurry up,” Hulk growled before jumping down. He landed next to Deadpool, who was grumbling under his breath, and he moved out of the way so that the others could jump. 

“Hulk! Catch!” He was able to snatch the archer out of the air before he cracked his skull open, and he carefully placed his teammate on his other side. Away from Deadpool’s angry mutterings. 

“Rude move, big guy!” Deadpool finally yelled. With a single jump, he was sitting on top of Hulk’s shoulders and weakly banging his fists against the top of Hulk’s head. He knows the hits are weak, because Jo said that Deadpool has super strength too. He’s just being annoying. 

“Talking wastes time, and we don’t have a lot of time,” Hulk said. Deadpool stopped hitting him, but he didn’t move off of Hulk’s shoulders. 

“Point,” Deadpool huffed and slumped against him. Hulk could throw him off, but it might be easier to just go along with him. For now. 

“I understand your reasoning, Hulk, but we are all on the same side,” Thor said. Remy was looking up at Deadpool with a little bit of confusion mixed into his glare, and Hulk shrugged. The move made Deadpool giggle, but Hulk is going to ignore that for now. 

“Onward, great steed!” When this is over, Hulk might have to hurt him a little. Jo will understand. 

“Is it just me or is this place really creepy?” Unlike the abandoned amusement park above them, this underground park looks fully functional. It’s mostly dark, with just enough light for them to get around, but the feeling of the place is unsettling. 

“We should be cautious,” Thor agreed. 

“We just gotta find the kids and get out,” Remy said and moved to the front of the line. 

“Fuck that! I came here for some killin’,” Deadpool called out. 

“Not so loud,” Hulk reminded him. 

“Hey, we’re in Murderworld now. Arcade knows we’re here. He’s just waiting for the perfect time to strike.” It was said with a pat to the top of Hulk’s head, and he fought the urge to toss the mercenary off of him. 

“Yo, ‘Pool! Jo’s dating Banner, Hulk’s other half, so she doesn’t want him damaged. Capisce?” Clint is walking next to them, and Hulk felt Deadpool lean to the side. Likely to meet the archer’s eyes before resuming his previous position. 

“Yeah, capisco. Tall, dark, and hairy is okay with that?” The first part was drawled out loud enough for Clint to hear, and the question was whispered so that only Hulk heard him. 

“Not his call,” Hulk said and kept moving. Deadpool laughed and slapped his own thigh, and Hulk is going to take that as approval. (So is Bruce, not that either of them need approval from anyone to be with Jo.)

“Oh, he must be lovin’ this! Ol’ Josie and—” Whatever Deadpool was going to say was cut off as a flash of light appeared above Hulk’s head, and Deadpool screeched as he was thrown backwards. “Motherfucker! Who did that?!” 

“It’s okay, kids! We’re here to getcha outta here!” Remy called out. A girl stepped out of the darkness, with shaggy blonde hair and eyes that nearly seemed to glow. 

“Rem? That you?” she called out. Hulk could just make out the bodies behind her, but he couldn’t distinguish any physical features. 

“Alright, kids, roll call. Tabitha Smith, I already got you.”

“Kevin Ford.”

“Cessily Kincaid.”

“Sam Guthrie, and I got Bobby da Costa.”

“Sarah Vale is dead. How’re we gonna tell Jessie that we let her sister die?” Tabitha asked. The kids, because they are still kids, looked scared. Haunted. Deadpool moved around Hulk, between Clint and Thor, and stopped next to Remy. 

“Where’s he at?” Whatever the girl blasted him with, it doesn’t seem to have fazed him. 

“We don’t know. We’ve been down here for days, dodging traps and other things that want us dead. _He killed Sarah_ ,” Tabitha said, nearly growling towards the end. 

“I’m gonna go find him! Have fun babysitting!” Deadpool took off at a run, and Hulk lost sight of him seconds later. He could still hear his loud “yahoo!” echoing in the distance. 

“As much as I want him dead, we need to get the kids out of here. Bobby needs some sunlight,” Remy said as he looked over his shoulder at them. “Oh, and don’t touch Kevin.”

The four of them formed a protective shield around the kids, and they let the kids go first through the trapdoor. It was a little tricky, at times, but they managed it. Hulk got a better look at the kids once they were back outside, and they were all covered in dirt and a little bit of blood. With Bruce’s help, he was able to look over their injuries. None of them had anything that looked close to fatal, mostly cuts and bruises, and he knew they would be okay. 

“We should not leave Deadpool alone to fight the enemy,” Thor said once the kids were secured on the jet. Hulk nodded to show that he agreed, and Clint and Remy exchanged a look. 

“I can get us another ride. Get the kids out of here,” Clint finally said. 

"You sure?" Remy asked. 

“Yes, I’m sure. Get them somewhere safe.” They all watched as Remy walked onto the jet, and it was streaking through the sky a minute later. Clint pulled a phone out of his pocket and hit a few buttons, and he sighed as he slipped the phone back into a pocket. “Let’s go find Deadpool.”

Hulk held onto Clint this time as they jumped through the hole in the floor, and Thor led the way. They passed the spot where they found the kids and continued on, and Hulk didn’t like the look of the underground amusement park. The air felt tense, like it was only a matter of time before something happened. 

“I can hear him, but I cannot see him,” Thor said quietly. Hulk strained to hear, but he couldn’t hear anything. Which was unusual, since it seemed like Deadpool never really stopped talking. 

“You know, this is usually about the time that the bad guy does something really dramatic like—” Clint was cut off as a robotic clown appeared in front of them, and a thick gas drifted out of the top of the clown’s head. The gas surrounded them, thickened, and everything went dark.

**.xXx.**

“So, he’s in Ireland?” Jo questioned. There’s dots, on a map, but none of the flashing numbers make any sense to her. How were they able to track Doom anyway? The guy has that whole super genius thing going for him, and he’s usually pretty good at staying under the radar.

“We have several different reports,” Reed said slowly. 

“He wants to be found,” Tony clarified. Why couldn’t Reed just say that?

“Yes, we believe that he is sending out signals. Taunting us, maybe,” Reed added. Well, that doesn’t sound good. She’s only met Doom once, while helping out the Fantastic Four, and he seemed…fanatic. Insanely intelligent, with insane being the key word. Kept saying that all he wanted to do was save this world, and that the Fantastic Four had to die before he became the supreme leader. She’s heard speeches like that before, but with Doom? The guy genuinely believed what he was saying. He wasn’t just trying to justify his desire to kill his former friends; he honestly wanted to save the world. 

“You are thinking way too hard,” Tony said and lightly poked her temple. 

_“It’s Doom. He’s…well, he’s not the average bad guy. Will he kill? Definitely. But he honestly believes that he’s doing what he can to save the world. That kind of insanity…it makes him dangerous.”_ Her mental voice is still quiet, she needs to work on that, but she knows that Tony heard her. 

_“We’re dangerous too, sweetheart.”_ The comment made her roll her eyes, but she didn’t argue with him. 

“We can’t cover all that area in a day,” she pointed out. 

“We can if we split up,” Tony countered. 

“Splitting up is never a good idea.” She paused to think it over and then shrugged. “But it’s the quickest way to get results. We’ll just have to keep communication open. Whoever finds him first alerts the others.”

“Who goes with who?” Ben asked her. 

“I’m not leaving Tony’s side, so I guess that leaves you and Johnny.” She tried not to smile, because those two have always fought like cats and dogs, but going from the little bit of glare in Ben’s eyes she failed. He’s not glaring at her though. 

“What about us?” Reed asked. 

“You two stay here. This place can’t be left undefended. We can’t have the prisoners escaping again,” Jo said. Reed and Sue exchanged a look, and Jo crossed her arms. “You asked for our help, and this is us helping. You have to trust us, Sue.”

“Will you kill him?” Jo wanted to growl, because she’s had this argument one too many times with Reed. 

“I know it’s a little hard to believe, but I only kill when there is no other choice. I don’t want to kill Doom, but I will if I have to.” She can feel Tony’s fingers lacing through hers and squeezing, and she gave a small squeeze back. 

“We’re gonna raid your fridge and turn in for the night. Leave first thing in the morning to hunt Doom down? Good? Okay. C’mon, Jo.” She let Tony pull her around the Fantastic Four, watched him gather up a little bit of food and two bottles of water, and they disappeared into the room set aside for them. Tony pulled her down onto the mattress, and she wrapped her arms around him as he cuddled up to her side. 

“I don’t enjoy killing. I don’t always regret it, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy it,” she grumbled. The worst thing? Reed likes her, as a person. He’s told her before that he’s fascinated by the way her mind works, how quick she can assess a situation and adjust accordingly, and he thinks she’s funny. He stood up for her a few times with Sue. He just doesn’t like that she’s a killer. 

“I know,” Tony whispered. Tony has killed. He didn’t want to, but he did what he had to. There’s always a choice, but sometimes it feels like there isn’t. 

“It’s been years. I shouldn’t care about what they think anymore.” She thought she was past this; she doesn’t need to be liked by everyone, but it hurts. She feels like some kind of dark stain on their lives. 

“Some therapist, forever ago, told me that it’s human nature to seek approval from others. You don’t need their approval, Jo. They don’t know what it’s like for people like us.” Tony pulled her hand so that it was pressed tight over the arc reactor, and she had to squeeze her eyes shut. The Fantastic Four have been lucky; their hands are clean, but hers and Tony’s will probably never come clean. Redemption doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a lifelong process. 

“We’re the good guys.” Her voice was a hoarse whisper, and Tony’s arms tightened around her hips. They fell asleep without ever touching the food.

**September 2, 2014**

“Okay, Captain?” He’s sitting on a bench, not too far away from the Triskelion, and most people never would have heard Natasha sit down beside him.

“The STRIKE force did a good job today.” It’s not a real answer, but it’s still revealing. The STRIKE force members are good soldiers, strong, but they’re not his real team. He doesn’t know why Fury put him in charge, and Natasha’s eyes have closed off since they got here. 

“Are you worried about them?” she asked after a few moments of silence. She’s not talking about the STRIKE force now, and he knows it. She’s talking about the others, their real team. Jo and Tony are helping another team. Clint, Thor, and Bruce are helping another team. This isn’t right. 

“Aren’t you?” He finally looked over at her, and she just shrugged. Something is really not right.

**.xXx.**

Clint groaned as he regained consciousness, and he shook his head to help clear it. He’s attached to a ceiling, with duct tape and knives. He can feel the knives nicking the skin around his ribs and thighs, because they’ve been stabbed through his clothes and into the ceiling. Tape is around his torso and arms, and he’s completely stuck. He’s over two arenas, separated by a thick wall. Both arenas look like they’re from a carnival, he’d know those swirling patterns anywhere, and the arenas are covered with a glass ceiling. So he can see, and he can hear.

Hulk and Deadpool are in the right arena. He can hear Hulk’s growls and Deadpool’s manic laughter, and it looks like they’re trying to tear each other apart. Thor is in the left arena, facing off against a giant robot. Going by the god’s yells, he’s seeing something else. Someone else. Both arenas are filled with gas, and it’s barely visible. It must be what’s making them fight, and Clint tried to get some part of his body to move. 

“None of that now. Sit still and watch the show.” There’s a balcony next to him, and dark eyes looked over at his struggling figure before looking back down at the arenas. “I’ve seen Deadpool’s indestructibility up close, and I’ve heard rumors that the Hulk can’t be killed as well.” 

_“It’s just Hulk,”_ Clint thought as the maniac next to him laughed. 

“And Thor is supposed to be a god. Once we have a winner between the mercenary and the monster, the god will enter their arena to fight the victor. Do you think he’s indestructible?”

“I think you’re insane.” That caused the man to laugh again, and Clint shifted. His hands are taped next to his body, so he just needs to grab one of the knives cozying up to his ribcage. 

“Maybe, but aren’t you just a little bit curious? Out of all of your teammates, who’s the strongest?” The strongest…he can’t say. Physically Hulk is probably the strongest, but Deadpool can’t be killed. Thor is a god, and Clint has seen him and Hulk spar. Were they holding back? They must have been, because the fighting going on under him is brutal. 

“What’s gonna happen to me?” He’s the only one not being gassed and forced to fight, so there must be something special planned for him. 

“After Thor fights the winner, you’ll fight the winner of that match. I imagine you won’t last long, but you might stand a small chance if you watch closely. Look for weakness. If you keep quiet, I might even give you a weapon. Not that it will help much. Look at them.”

Hulk’s massive fists are crashing against Deadpool over and over again, and the mercenary should be mush at this point. Instead, he just keeps regenerating and laughing. Blades clash against Hulk, and sometimes they go past his skin. Thor is a blur as he rains blows against the robot, but the machine is able to piece itself back together. The look in the god’s eyes is pure madness, insanity, and Clint’s stuck. He’s literally stuck to the ceiling, watching as his teammates are torn apart. 

“What if no one wins? What if they keep fighting forever?” Clint’s stalling. It’s obvious, but he needs to stall. He’s got two fingers on one of the knives, the blade is slipping across his skin, but he can get it out. He just needs time. 

“If I get bored, I’ll get the Hulk to turn back into his human form. The other one, Banner, can be killed. Without the Hulk, he’s only human.” That’s not possible. Hulk would never let anything happen to Bruce. Then again, before now, Clint would’ve sworn that he’d never be taped to a ceiling while his teammates tried to kill each other. (Deadpool can’t be killed.)

“They’re the same person,” Clint pointed out. The man hummed, and Clint could see him watching the fight from the corner of his eye. He nearly had one of the knives pulled out when Hulk placed his massive hands on Deadpool’s head and twisted, and he had to close his eyes as Deadpool’s head was turned completely around. It’s still attached, but barely. 

“Now it’s getting interesting,” the man laughed. It was more like a cackle. An evil cackle. The blade biting into the thin skin of his palm was enough to clear his mind, and he slowly started removing the tape from his right arm. 

Down below, Deadpool was still fighting with his head turned around backwards. The walls all around Thor were shaking, and Clint’s arm is starting to bleed. He’s gotta get free and figure out how to stop the gas, before Hulk and Deadpool find a way to kill each other. He had to saw at the tape slowly, quietly, and he kept an eye on Arcade the entire time. The man was completely focused on the carnage below them, which just goes to show that the man is an idiot for underestimating Clint. Whatever. Ignorance is working in his favor right now. 

Clint lost track of time as he worked on the thick tape securing him to the ceiling, but he could still hear the fighting below him. Arcade’s manic laughter and heckles became static to him as he worked, until his hand was free and most of his arm. That’s all he really needs. His elbow could bend, which made it only too easy for him to store the knife in a pocket and retrieve an arrow. A smaller arrow than his usual ones, something that Tony threw at him a few days ago. He said to use it during an emergency, and the mad scientist promised him that it wouldn’t kill a human. Stun, not kill. He wants to take Arcade in alive. 

The arrow hit Arcade in the center of his chest, and the man didn’t make a sound as his teeth locked and his body began to spasm. Within seconds, he was unconscious and laying on the balcony floor. Clint retrieved the earlier knife and went to work on cutting himself loose. He was able to swing himself into the balcony instead of falling onto the glass ceilings below him, and he took a minute to use the cuffs he had on him to restrain Arcade. Wrists, ankles, elbows, and knees. He’s not going anywhere. There were flashing lights at the back of the balcony, so this has to be his control room. Clint’s not as smart as Tony, or even Natasha, but he knows his way around. The gas was turned off first, and Clint counted to a hundred before going to look over the balcony. Thor was shaking his head, as if to clear it, and Deadpool was popping his head back into place. Hulk was backed against the far wall and taking deep breaths with his eyes closed. 

“Everyone okay?!” Looks like the glass isn’t sound-proofed on their side, because all three looked up at him. 

“Did ya get ‘im?!” Deadpool yelled back. Now that his senses aren’t being constantly assaulted, the regeneration has completely cleared his mind. Or maybe it’s the insanity. 

“Yeah! Who’s ready to get out of here?!”

“I would like to depart now!” Thor called up. Hulk grunted, and Deadpool yelled something about going out to celebrate. Clint moved back over to the controls, hit a few buttons, and tried to contain his smile. He slung Arcade over a shoulder and moved over to the stairs, and he met the others at the bottom of the staircase. 

“This place is gonna blow in about five minutes, so we should get out of here.” Thor took the unconscious Arcade so that Clint could jump onto Hulk’s back, and Deadpool jumped up to hang off Hulk’s other shoulder. 

“Thanks for the neck massage!” Deadpool yelled over the sound of Hulk’s running feet. Thor was just behind them, and they’ll be at the opening any minute now. 

“Anytime,” Hulk huffed. Is that their way of saying that they’re both okay with trying to destroy each other? It was under the influence, but it was still pretty brutal. Hulk jumped through the hole in the ceiling, and he didn’t stop running until they were on the jet that was parked in the empty parking lot. Fury came through for him after all, but he didn’t leave any pilots behind. Clint slipped off his back and went straight to the pilot’s chair, and the ramp closed once Thor was inside. 

Clint could see the explosion, saw the way the ground bowed upwards before collapsing inwards, and he felt his lips stretching in a smile. Good riddance.

**.xXx.**

_“I need a favor,” Doreen Green said while lightly blowing on her nails. Forest green is the color of the day._

_“What kind of favor?” The man always speaks in a growl, which never fails to make Doreen laugh._

_“Don’t sound so grumpy; it’s just a little thing.”_

_“What is it?” The man has absolutely no patience. She’s not the most patient person in the world, but geeze. He’s at a whole other level._

_“Chill, Logan. I just want to know where the Avengers are.” That’s definitely a growl coming from the other end of the phone, and Doreen kicked back in her chair so that she could prop her feet up on the table in front of her. This apartment is too small. Suffocating._

_“Scattered. Lookin’ for anyone special?” Scattered? She thought the whole point of being on a team was to stick together. Unless they’ve got a lot of different assignments. She knows about the escaped prisoners from the Big House and Cube. That’s part of the reason why she’s making this call._

_“Hmm…how about…Ironman? Where’s he at?” Okay, so she has a favorite Avenger. Sue her._

_“Why him?” Logan sounds almost defensive, but she’s pretty sure that the grumpy mutant has never met the billionaire superhero. She would’ve heard about it._

_“I don’t need to give you a reason. You owe me a favor, remember?” This time the growl was loud enough to really tickle her eardrums, and she tossed her head back in a laugh. Wolverine challenged her to a fight, a friendly little duel, and she won. He wasn’t too happy about it, especially since the rules dictated that the loser owed the winner a favor. It’s time for her to cash in._

_“Yeah, I remember. What do you want from the Avengers?” She doesn’t have to tell him, it’s not really any of his business, but Logan is a friend. Kind of._

_“I want to help them. I’m tired of sittin’ around on my keister, and it’s about time I did something useful. All the other superhero teams are borin’, so I wanna join the Avengers.” It’s something that she’s thought long and hard about, and she’s made a decision._

_“Don’t think that’s how it works.”_

_“Come on! Why would they turn me down? I’m awesome, and you know it.” She has abilities, she can help people, so she’s going to help people. The thought of just being a superhero all on her own had crossed her mind, but she wants to be part of a team. Not out on her own. There’s no fun in kicking ass alone._

_“Alright. Just don’t come cryin’ to me when they turn you away.” Ha-ha, he’s so funny._

_“Do you know where he is or not?” She’s heard whispers about the Tank taking over as Stark’s bodyguard, and she knows that the Tank is really Jo Holbrook. The woman is like a daughter to Logan, so he’ll know where she is. Which means he’ll know where Ironman is._

_“Last I heard, he was headed to Europe to help the Fantastic Four with Doom.”_

_“Europe? You know that’s a continent, right? It’s kinda big. Think you can narrow it down?” Logan laughed, it wasn’t a very friendly sound, and Doreen glared at the blank wall across from her. “Whatever. I’ll find them all on my own.”_

_“Good luck with that,_ Squirrel Girl.”

_“Later,_ James!”

And that’s how Doreen Green found herself wandering aimlessly in some forest in Ireland. A few contacts were able to lead her to multiple Doom sightings, so Ironman has to be around here somewhere. Or someone from the Fantastic Four, but she’s hoping for Ironman. It’s been nearly three hours, but she can hear muffled shouting coming from somewhere ahead of her. Hopefully, that’s not Ironman. If it is, he doesn’t know anything about stealth. 

“You should have eaten breakfast!” That’s a woman’s voice. Susan Storm, maybe? She’s seen pictures of the pretty superhero, but she’s never heard her speak. 

“I did!” That’s a man’s voice. It’s definitely Tony Stark, because she’s heard him talk in interviews and seen him on the news a few times. 

“You took two bites of toast! That’s not breakfast!” Wait, if that’s Tony Stark, then the woman has to be his bodyguard. Josephine Holbrook, Jo. The Tank. 

“I’m clearly suffering through starvation. I’m hallucinating.” Doreen was standing stock still as Ironman looked her over, because that is Ironman. He’s in the suit and everything, but his face is bare. There’s a woman standing next to him, definitely taller than Doreen’s own five-three, and she doesn’t look the way that Doreen pictured her. The black jumpsuit she’s wearing is showing off some soft looking curves. 

“What are you goin’ on about now?” The bodyguard hasn’t turned away from Ironman yet, so she can’t see her. 

“There’s a girl, with a tail, and I think that’s a chipmunk on her shoulder,” Ironman said and lifted an arm to point a finger at her. 

“It’s a squirrel, and his name is Monkey Joe.” The squirrel on her left shoulder lightly knocked his furry head against her cheek, and she reached up to lightly rub her fingers across the top of his head as the woman turned to face them. 

“Well, either we’re both hallucinating or there’s definitely a girl with a squirrel on her shoulder in front of us,” the other woman said. What should Doreen call her? Her official codename is Eris, but the Tank is her more popular name. Is calling her Jo too personal?

“The name’s Squirrel Girl,” she said and let her tail flick next to her hip. Both of them tracked the movement and then looked at each other. 

“Think she’s with Doom?” Ironman whispered. 

“I could check, but that seems kinda rude,” the Tank whispered back. 

“Check? How ya gonna do that? Not that I’m working with Doom or anything, I’m just curious.” They both turned to her with raised brows, and, wow, those two are really in sync. “I’m here to help you, actually. I wanna be an Avenger.”

“You wanna be a…” Ironman paused to look at his bodyguard. “She wants to be a…HAHA!” 

“What’s so funny?!” The two of them were holding onto each other as they laughed, and Doreen crossed her arms as her eyes narrowed on their laughing forms. She doesn’t see what’s so funny about the whole thing. 

“I’m getting the softest and chillest vibes off of you. There’s not a hint of anger or anything around you,” the Tank managed to get out between loud guffaws. Right. She was held in a facility that experimented on mutants, and humans, and she came out with an extra trick. Telepathy. 

“Maybe you should check again, because I’m feeling a little angry right now.” It’s a lie. She’s mostly just annoyed. People are always underestimating her. Normally it’s a good thing, means that she can kick their ass before they know what’s coming, but she…well, she kinda looks up to Ironman. Just a little. 

“She’s so adorable! Can we keep her around as a mascot?”

“Hey!” At her shout, Ironman dissolved back into laughter with his bodyguard right behind him. She’ll fight both of them to prove that she has what it takes if she has to! 

“Or maybe we can—” Ironman was cut off as a jet appeared above them, shaking the leaves off the branches that blanketed them, and Doreen tucked Monkey Joe into a pouch on her belt before she could get snagged. Looks like Doom found them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Knowing the kids isn’t super important, I pulled mutant students from across different storylines, but I thought it’d be neat to give a shout-out to some of the lesser known mutants in the X-Men universe. Feel free to google them! 
> 
> Writing from Clint’s perspective was both a challenge and a little fun, so I hope I did okay! I would have described the fights a little more, but I really do hate hurting the characters. Don’t worry, there’s always another fight waiting around the corner. 
> 
> The character at the end is the Undefeatable Squirrel Girl! If you don’t know who Squirrel Girl, Doreen Green, is please go look her up. She’s one of my all-time favorite Marvel characters, and she deserves more love. Needless to say, she’s going to be around for a while. (For anyone that’s curious, I picture her as Anna Kendrick.)


	28. I'm Squirrel Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _this little light of mine, i’m gonna let it shine_   
>  _this little light of mine, i’m gonna let it shine_   
>  _this little light of mine, i’m gonna let it shine_   
>  _let it shine, let it shine, let it shine_   
>  **Children’s Song**   
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small Warning: Flashbacks. A lot of flashbacks. I’d apologize, but they were too fun to write.

“Agent Barton, can we help you?” Bruce shuffled a little and tried not to meet anyone’s eyes, because he’s not good with new introductions. Jo said that Reed and Sue were nice people, but nice people don’t always want people like him in the house. 

“Yeah, Tony’s supposed to be here,” Clint said and crossed his arms. 

“We have also brought the one called Arcade,” Thor added. The unconscious man is slung over the god’s shoulder, and Thor hasn’t said much on the ride here. It could be because of what that gas made Thor see, or it could be because Deadpool talks enough for all of them. Sue leaned around Clint’s body to see all of them, and Bruce caught the quick narrowing of her eyes. 

“Agent Barton, Thor, Dr. Banner, all of you are welcome here,” Sue said with a slight smile. 

“What about me?!” Deadpool yelled and started jumping. 

“You are not allowed in the house. If you come in, we’ll make a cell for you too.” Sue’s voice was calm and her smile was sweet, but Bruce felt just a little bit colder at the words. 

“What did I ever do to you?!”

“You almost got Johnny killed.”

“Yeah, almost. He’s still around, right? Yo, Johnny!” The sudden yell almost had Bruce’s ears ringing, and he looked over at Deadpool. 

“He’s not here! He went with the others to look for Doom.”

“That’s where Tony and Jo are?” Clint asked. Deadpool is sulking next to him. At least, it looks like he’s sulking. His arms are crossed and his chin is nearly touching his chest.

“Yes,” Reed answered before Sue could say anything. 

“We should get Arcade inside,” Sue whispered. Reed nodded and asked them to follow him, but Bruce hung back. They said Deadpool wasn’t allowed inside, and he can’t be left alone outside. 

“Bruce?” Clint’s looking over his shoulder at him, and the archer is still covered in dried blood. He needs to get cleaned up and rest. 

“I’m going to stay with Deadpool. We’ll be fine.” The others looked like they wanted to argue, but Clint let out a pained groan to catch their attention. The archer winked at him before letting Reed pull him away, and Bruce watched as the front door closed. 

“What are you playin’ at, Doc?” He can’t actually see Deadpool’s face because of the mask, but it looks like the mercenary might be raising an eyebrow. Bruce shrugged, because he’s not playing at anything. 

“Seemed wrong to leave you outside alone,” was his answer. Maybe it’s because of their regeneration or some other factor, but neither of them seem to be bothered by the cold. Bruce can see some benches farther out, under some barren trees, and that’s where he went. He can hear Deadpool walking behind him, humming so not completely quiet, and he carefully sat down. 

“Why do ya care, Doc?” There’s that nickname again. No one ever casually called him that until Jo. 

“Because Jo does.” It’s the simplest answer than he can give. For some reason, Jo cares about Deadpool. Loves him, even. She probably won’t be happy when she hears that Deadpool wasn’t allowed in the house. 

“Wanna hear some old stories about your lady love?” Deadpool had jumped up so that he was sitting on the back of the bench, feet planted next to where Bruce is sitting, and he’s looking down at Bruce with what appears to be a smile. 

"What kind of stories?" Deadpool's head was thrown back in a laugh, a laugh that shook the entire bench, and the sound was so...free. Bruce can’t imagine what it’s like to be so free, or uninhibited. 

“Our story, duh. Sit back, Doc, and I’ll tell you all about little Josie. We’re starting at the beginning too, back when she was a baby tank. Eight years old and stupid in the way that only kids can be. Fearless and stupid.”

**March 1995**

_That one half metal guy is going to pay him a pretty penny to kill Wolverine. Or was it the guy with the lumpy head that’s going to pay him for Wolverine’s death? Not that Deadpool has any room to talk about lumpy heads, he’s seen his own in the mirror, but that guy had somethin’ extra goin’ on. Not the point. He’s getting off track. He’s trackin’ Wolverine, and a lot of money is gonna come his way once the old mutant has finally kicked it._

_He remembers James Howlett. He met him before…before he became Deadpool. Before he got his awesome regeneration powers! Which came from Wolverine, oddly enough. Does that make them brothers? Can he kill his brother? He can if the price is right, and the price is really high. Sky high. Into another universe high. Wolverine doesn’t even remember him. Got shot with a bullet made of adamantium right in the cranium, and he lost all his memories. Last time Deadpool saw him, few years ago, the older mutant didn’t even recognize him! Didn’t even recognize his own name. Said his name was Logan now, which is a lame name. Logan, really? And he thought Wolverine was bad._

_He’s sleepin’. With both eyes closed. Deadpool is squatting in some bushes, the flowers smell nice and tickle his nose even through the mask, and he can see the house clearly. No house should have windows that big. Don’t they know people can see inside? Yeah, they’re in the woods, but still. People could be hiding in the bushes, like him. Wolverine is kicked back in a recliner, with both eyes closed, and his mouth is open. The old bastard’s actually snorin’. He can’t sense anyone else in the house. Wolverine may have animal like reflexes, but Deadpool is fast. He can be inside in a flash (ha, in a flash, like The Flash). Wolverine will never know what hit him._

_“What ya doin’ in there?” The little voice is such a shock that he tumbles out of the bushes and onto the nicely mowed lawn, and a little face looks at his upside down. Long brown hair is spilling over her shoulders and brushing against the neck of his mask, and a pair of big dark green eyes are looking right at him._

_“Don’t ya know it’s rude to scare people?” he asked her. He spun around so that he was sitting indian-style, facing the little thing. She’s not very young, seven or eight, and she propped her little hands on her hips._

_“Don’t ya know it’s rude to hide in the bushes? You coulda hurt the flowers!” She stomped her foot at the end to punctuate her point, and Deadpool drummed his fingers against his knees. He’s dripping in weapons and being lectured about flower care by a kid._

_“Aren’t you scared of me?” She should be. He’s here to kill the man inside her house. She shook her head, which made her long hair swing around her little body, and poked her thumb against her chest._

_“I’m indestructible!” That’s a big word for her age. Wait, indestructible…she’s a mutant. Did Wolverine have a kid when Deadpool wasn’t paying attention?_

_“Oh yeah, me too.”_

_“Logan is too, but he’s stronger than me. I bet he’s stronger than you too.” The little girl’s smile was smug, and she called him Logan. Must not be Wolverine’s brat then._

_“I’ll have to fight him and see.” He’s smiling under the mask, probably an evil looking smile, but the little girl just huffed and shook her head._

_“That’s just dumb. You should arm wrestle him!”_

_“Arm wrestle?” His head tilted to the side, and the little girl copied him._

_“Yeah! Wanna try it?” She dropped onto the ground so that she was sitting directly in front of him, and she leaned forward to place her elbow on the grass. At her raised eyebrow and little huff, he did the same. Their palms clapped as they locked hands, and she smiled at him wide enough to show her little teeth._

_“I’m gonna win,” he pointed out. He pushed against her hand, felt the little bit of resistance, and stopped. It’d be easy to beat a child at an arm wrestling competition, and she’s biting the inside of her cheek as her eyebrows pull together in concentration. She’s pushing against him, and he can feel the strength she’ll have one day. He doesn’t remember being a kid, doesn’t remember a lot of things. He’s not a good person, he’s a mercenary that’s here to do a job, but… “Dammit, you beat me!”_

_“Take that, mister!” Her little fists are raised in the air, and he’s shaking his hand as if she actually hurt him. Her smile is radiant, like a little sun, and her laugh sounds like birds singing._

_“You win, this time,” he said and pointed at her. She smiled at him again, all teeth, and stuck her hand out._

_“Josephine Holbrook, but my ma just calls me Jo.” Such a small little thing. She doesn’t know anything about this filthy fucking world; it’s been a very long time since he’s seen something so innocent._

_“De—Wade. Wade Wilson,” he said and shook her little hand in his._

_“Why’s your face all covered up like that, Wade?”_

_“Because I’m hiding,” he whispered, like it was a secret. It’s not a complete lie. His face, his body, his everything is ruined. All torn apart and pieced back together. Little hands lifted into the air, and he held still as soft palms touched against his cheeks. Her hands moved over his chin, his nose, traced around his eyes, and ran over the back of his skull. He knows that the little girl can feel the deformities, even through the mask, but it didn’t stop her._

_“Ma says that looks aren’t important. You can see a real person by lookin’ into their eyes. Can I see your eyes?” she asked excitedly. His face has sent grown men scrambling for some place to puke, so a child doesn’t stand a chance. Still, he didn’t move as her little hands lifted the material off his neck and slowly peeled it upwards._

_“Not very pretty, hmm?” Her hands are on the bare skin of his cheeks now, and he wants to flinch from the touch. It hurts. It always hurts. Even the touch of her small hands makes him feel like he’s in agony. It doesn’t stop him from smiling._

_“Like caramel.” The word is drawled in her little accent, carmel instead of car-a-mel. “I think you’re very pretty, Mister Wade.”_

_“Deadpool!” His name is a growl, and he rolls his mask back down as he gets to his feet. Looks like Wolverine is awake now, and the claws have come out. Adamantium, not bone. The adamantium is more badass, but Deadpool misses the bone claws. They didn’t hurt as much._

_“Long time no see!” he called back._

_“You know Logan?” Jo asks. She’s looking up at him, with her big dark eyes, and the places where her hands had touched throb with fresh pain._

_“You could say we’re like brothers.” The answer makes Logan huff, but little Jo squeals. She jumps forward to wrap her arms around his legs, effectively locking his knees together, and he looks down at her in confusion. She shouldn’t be holding onto him. He’s gotta kill Wolverine now, and she’ll get hurt if she doesn’t let go._

_“Uncle Wade!” The name makes both of the men freeze, but Jo doesn’t let go. She might not call Logan some affectionate name, but she clearly sees the other man as a father figure. Can he kill family? Is the price high enough? He pulled her arms away from his so that he could kneel down, and he could feel Wolverine’s eyes on him. Wary. Afraid. Wolverine is afraid. For Jo._

_“Can I kill Logan?” Her little brows drew together again and then she vehemently started shaking her head._

_“No! We don’t hurt family! Right, Logan?” She looked over her shoulder at the other man, who still has his claws out, and he shook his head. “See? We don’t hurt family. It’s wrong.”_

_“It’s wrong,” he repeated. He threw out his moral code a long time ago, back when he realized that what he did best was kill. Kill, kill, kill. Now he can’t be killed, no one can put an end to him, and he’s still only good at one thing. He kills for money, he kills for pride, he kills for fun. Laws mean nothing to him. Rules mean nothing to him. He has no structure, no laws, no rules. Can she be his moral compass? This little girl who will one day grow up to be just as strong as him?_

_“Uncle Wade?” The name makes a vein in Wolverine’s forehead throb, and that’s enough for him to like the new name._

_“I won’t kill anyone that you don’t want me to. I promise, Josie.” The name causes her brows to furrow again, and she sticks out her pinky._

_“You hafta pinky promise or it doesn’t count.” He raises his gloved pinky finger and links it with hers, and she smiles at him as they shake on it. He won’t kill Wolverine. Logan. Jo doesn’t want him to. You don’t hurt family._

_“See ya around, Josie!”_

**October 1999**

_“Psst, Josie! Over here!” He’s hiding in a bush, why is he always in a bush, and a pair of dark green eyes found him. She skipped away from the other mutant children and sat down with her back to the bush, but she looked over her shoulder to smile at him._

_“Yo, Uncle Wade. How’s it goin’?” She’s thirteen now, little Josie. She’s been at the fancy mutant school for about three years now, and she looks happy. She doesn’t have to hold back here, doesn’t have to be afraid of a human learning her secret._

_“Just checkin’ in on my best girl.” He’s actually in the area because he had a quota to meet, and it’s a good thing that his suit doesn’t show bloodstains._

_“You’re such a weirdo, Uncle Wade.” It’s said with a roll of her eyes, but she’s still smiling. His little Josie. She’s not always sweet, but she’s so innocent. So clean. So much different than he is. “Hey, Uncle Wade?”_

_“Yo?” Her soft voice sounded tentative, and that’s not his Josie. She’s fearless, in the way that only the good of heart can be._

_“Logan, he, uh, got his memories back. All of them. I heard him talkin’ to Jean, the bitch—”_

_“Language, young lady!” The admonition just makes her laugh, a soft tinkling sound like wind chimes, and she starts to pull at the grass next to her._

_“Well, she is. I know she’s leadin’ Logan on, but he’s so in love that he can’t tell. That’s not what’s important. What’s important is—”_

_“He recovered all his memories.” Her dark eyes cut over at him, but he just smiled right on._

_“Would you let me finish? Don’t ya know it’s rude to interrupt people?”_

_“Please, continue,” he said and waved a hand at her._

_“I overheard him talkin’ to Jean, about the things he remembered. He’s like really old, ya know that? He remembers fightin’ in all these wars, and he remembers being part of a team. With you, and his brother. Said you were an ass back then, his words not mine, and he remembers what that man did to him. Stryker? He remembers gettin’ the adamantium. Remembers you too. The cancer? The Weapon X program? It’s all just so damn sad.”_

_“You kiss your mother with that mouth?” The words feel numb on his tongue, because he can remember too. Remember all the things he did under Stryker’s orders, remembers what it was like learning that he had cancer. He was going to die. Going to die. The doctors, that one evil fuck, made him indestructible. Regretted it in the end. The doctor, not Deadpool. He’s alive, which is more than he can say for the good doctor._

_“Is that why you’re…you know, your face, and, uh,” Jo stuttered out. She’s still too young to think about things like this. Things like death missions and ruined bodies._

_“The cancer, the tumors, went everywhere. Spread like mold. Boom! You still think I’m pretty though, right?” Jo twisted to look at him with her big innocent eyes, and he shouldn’t be here. There’s blood on his suit and a little bit of guts still stuck to his boots._

_“The prettiest,” she said with a big smile. A dimple showed in her left cheek, and he reached out to lightly poke the indentation. She laughed and swatted at his hand, and the sound of her laugh was almost soothing to his never-ending brain chemistry._

_“Get back to school, before you get in trouble,” he said and nudged her shoulder._

_“You’ll come back to visit? I promise not to tell Logan.” He held out a pinky finger, and she quickly shook it with her own. She jumped up and ran off to join the others, and he watched the way that the sunlight was caught in her hair. He’s surrounded by death. He makes it with his hands. Flirts with it every time someone tries to rip him apart. Jo is a spark of light. If Logan lets anything happen to that light, Deadpool might have to actually kill him._

**April 2004**

_“Whatcha doin’ up here?” She’s sitting in a tree just outside of the school grounds, which makes it a little easier for him. Sneaking into Xavier’s mansion is never easy, but he’s always up for a challenge._

_“Got into a fight with Logan.” Jo’s light has dimmed since her mother died last year, so Logan shouldn’t be fighting with the girl._

_“What’s he grumpy about this time?” Deadpool sat down on the branch across from her, and he felt her dark eyes on him. Some people can’t stand to look at him, but little Josie has never shied away from him._

_“You know what prom is, right?”_

_“A dance for hormone-fueled teenagers. Oh, Josie, you didn’t! Not at prom! It’s a cliché!” Her laugh filled the space around them, such a soft and quiet sound, but he felt himself pouting._

_“Yeah, it’s a cliché, but sometimes it’s nice to just feel normal.” Mutant kids don’t always have that luxury. Jo’s had it lucky, born to mutant parents, with a mother that loved her unconditionally._

_“Was it at least good?”_

_“Uncle Wade!” She tossed a pine cone at him, and he let it roll off his chest as he laughed. She may be seventeen now, but she’s still so innocent. So young._

_“I’m waiting,” he said in a sing-song voice. He listened to her sigh and saw her shift on the branch a little._

_“It wasn’t with my prom date. Some of us went out into the city, to meet up with some humans we know, as an after party. There’s a guy that I’ve met a few times, nothing serious, and he happened to be there.”_

_“A human? Eww!” She threw another pine cone at him, this one just as ineffective as the first, but she didn’t stop talking._

_“It was…okay. I don’t really see what the big fuss is all about. Yeah, it was fun and felt good, but it wasn’t the greatest thing ever.”_

_“You sure you did it right?”_

_“Don’t make me kick your ass.” He tutted at her dirty language, but they both know that he’s just joking. He can also see the problem now._

_“How’d Logan find out?” He’s swinging his legs back and forth while he keeps the voices quiet. This time is just for him and Jo; he doesn’t need them interfering._

_“I told him, duh.” Jo’s never called Logan her father, but he might as well be. It’s the only reason why she’d tell the older mutant that she did the horizontal tango for the first time. “Now he wants to know who the guy is, probably to break his face, but I’m not gonna give him a name. I’m never gonna see the guy again, so what’s the point?”_

_“Would you give me his name?”_

_“Not a chance, Uncle Wade.” Even in the darkness, she is light. She is the little bit of morality left in a shit-filled world. She is…she is. “Wanna race back to the mansion? See who can sneak in without getting caught?”_

_“You’re gonna lose, Josie!” he yelled as he jumped from the tree. He can hear her right behind him, laughing all the way._

**September 2005**

_Jo is missing._

_Wolverine is looking for her, hoping to track her. Find her. Save her._

_Jo is missing._

_The last time Deadpool saw her was the night of her graduation. Her long hair had been pinned back from her face, to show her flushed cheeks and bright eyes. She’d hugged him and poked him until he congratulated her on actually graduating, and they spent the night lying on the roof of the mansion. Logan knew he was there, because he could feel the angry mutant prowling in the room below them, but Logan let them have their moment._

_Jo is missing._

_She told him, as they traced random shapes in the stars, that she was going to travel. School wasn’t her thing, so she didn’t want to go to college. Her fingers mapped out a penguin as she talked about seeing the rest of the country, maybe going overseas. Asked him if he’d go with her, to all the best spots. He had a job coming up, couldn’t show her around the States, but he promised to take her overseas. To all the best places. The hidden places that the tourists don’t know about, so she could have the full experience._

_Jo is missing._

_After the exploring is over, she wants to be one of the X-Men. She’s strong, just like he knew she would be, and she wants to fight. He fights to kill, but little Josie is going to fight to save. She’ll be a good asset to the team. Strong, heals fast, thinks on her feet. Not before traveling, she reminds him. Because he’s already promised._

_Jo is missing._

**October 2006**

_Deadpool knows a SHIELD base when he sees one, even the most covert ones. That’s a SHIELD base. People come and go. He sees Wolverine a few times, sometimes with Anna Marie. The young girl looks haunted, like someone has died. It takes a little time, but he sneaks in. It’s dark and quiet, so he has to move quietly. Everyone is asleep, including the idiots in the control room. Maybe if he kills them they’ll send in better security. He’s still debating the idea when he sees her on the monitor, and that can’t be right._

_Wolverine and Anna Marie are in the room, but the other girl can’t be Jo. Wolverine and Anna Marie are asleep on their little beds, but the third person is lying with her eyes open. She’s so thin that she looks like she could sink through the cracks and disappear. There’s no hair to hide the angry look in her eyes. Her dark, dark eyes. Her light is gone. Someone has died. Jo died. She died._

**October 2007**

_It took Deadpool a year to hunt her down again, and he found her sitting in the ruins of a house. Parts of it have been burned into nothing but ash, but the structure remains. Jo’s sitting in the rubble with her back against one of the few posts left, and a pair of dark eyes look up at him. It’s been a year since she was in that place, and she’s one of SHIELD’s dogs now. He’s heard the chatter. They call her the Tank. Josie is a stone-cold killer. She’s in the dark now. With him. They killed her light._

_“Yeah, I guess they did.” The sound is like a shot to the gut, from a bazooka. Jo’s soft and sweet voice is gone, replaced with gravel and anger._

_“What did they do to you?”_

“They did what they did to you,” _one voice whispered._

“Can’t you see it?” _a second voice asked._

“Your one source of morality is gone. Gone!” _a third voice laughed. Jo flinched and wrapped her arms around her upraised knees, but she didn’t look away from him._

_“They always that loud?” she asked. She can hear the voices. He knows what happened to her. Knows that they cut her open and added some stuff in. Knows that she’s a telepath._

_“This is nothin’ compared to their usual chatter. Whatcha doin’ here, Josie?” She looked around her and flicked a pile of ashes with her finger._

_“I killed them. They were a threat, so I took care of it. Fire is just a cover. This isn’t what I wanted, is it?” They laid on the rooftop and talked about her future._

_“I still haven’t showed you all the best places,” he reminded her. They’re in Germany, but he can still show her. He can._

_“I think I’m done with recreational traveling.” She slowly got to her feet and didn’t bother to knock off the ash clinging to her. She looks nothing like herself, not really. He heard that she was dating someone, Johnny Storm. Is he not helping her? “Johnny doesn’t like it when I talk about SHIELD, so I don’t talk about it. What’s there to say anyway? ‘Hi, honey! Guess what? I killed a family today! What’d you do?’ I’d rather forget everything when I’m with him, you know?”_

_“I know.” He looked at her and saw light, but they took that away. She hasn’t figured it out yet though; the light is still there, underneath all the other static. His Josie is still there. She’s just lost._

_“Hey, Uncle Wade?” She slipped past him to stand on the sidewalk in front of the house, and the dim streetlight highlights the dark stains against her skin._

_“Yo?”_

_“Do you think he’s disappointed in me?” She’s talking about Logan; who else would she be talking about?_

_“You’re a survivor, Josie. ‘Course he’s proud.” He actually hasn’t run into Wolverine in a while, but he’s been looking over them for years. He knows love when he sees it, okay? And Logan loves Jo._

_“Hmm, maybe.” She walked down the street, alone, and he didn’t try to stop her. She’s just as bright as she always was. It’s up to her to figure that out._

**July 2012**

_Six years since being saved from that place. One year since her official retirement from SHIELD. She found him in France, tracking down some small-timer, and she even helped him dispatch the little cretin. Afterwards, they headed to Paris._

_He’s watched her change, over the years. She started out so angry and hopeless, which got a little worse after things ended with her and Johnny Storm. It was for the best. Love doesn’t pick and choose which parts to love; it’s an all or nothing thing. He’s helped her on a few assignments over the years, along with some of the others. Natasha doesn’t like him; she mostly just shoots at him until he goes away. Which, rude. Clint is amused by him, and the feeling is mutual. The archer does everything he can to not kill; he’s a good friend for Jo. They’ve got into some trouble over the years, but everything has turned out okay._

_“It feels good to just kick back,” Jo said and did just that. She threw her feet up on the fountain they were sitting next to, and Deadpool slumped over until his head was in her lap. She’s careful not to touch him these days. His looks don’t scare her; she doesn’t like hurting him. The telepathy…she can hear it when he’s in pain. Can hear the endless scream in the back of his mind as he’s forced to live with his tortured cells. Can hear the voices that make up his insanity. He can’t hide from the light anymore._

_“Does this mean you’ve given up killin’ for good?” She hummed, a deep sound in her fire-tested throat._

_“Nah. I’m sure there will always be situations where I’ll have to kill. I’ve made too many enemies over the years. Never say never, right?” She’s learned to accept the new parts of herself. Yeah, they took parts of her away, but she can regenerate. The new parts might be different, but it’s still her. Still Jo._

_“You gonna join the X-Men now?” Her laugh is loud and sounds like the heavy rings of church bells._

_“Definitely not. The girl that wanted that…well, she died a long time ago. She will be missed, but it’s time for me to move on.” It was his turn to hum, a sound not too different from hers, and he pushed the back of his skull against her thigh. The pain was immediate and searing, but it’s something that he’s used to._

“Ding-dong, the girl scout is dead!” _a voice crowed._

“Such a tragedy. Do we send flowers?”

“How about a get-well card?”

_“Your voices are assholes, you know that? Don’t they know it’s rude to talk shit?”_

_“I don’t think they care,” he answered honestly._

_“Point,” Jo conceded. They can see the stars, and he watched as she raised one arm to start tracing shapes. A lopsided bush. A tree. A penguin. The light is a different shade, but it can still chase away the shadows. “That’s kinda beautiful, Uncle Wade. Who knew you were such a poet under all the insanity?”_

_“Ah, shuddup.” A laugh like battering rams…he’ll take that sound over wind chimes any day._

**September 2, 2014**

“Oh, my head. Tony! Tony, you okay?!” She feels like she got hit over the head with Thor’s hammer, and she can’t move. Something big and metal is restraining her. Arms, elbows, torso, knees, and ankles. She can turn her neck, but not nearly enough. Tony is across from her, still in his suit, but he’s out. What even happened? She was walking through some trees with Tony, and then there was that girl. Squirrel Girl. She wanted to join them, be an Avenger, and she laughed. Her and Tony laughed. Shit. She really hopes the girl is okay. Maybe she didn’t get picked up with them.

 _“Tony, I kinda need you to wake up. Right now. We are in deep shit, and I need your genius brain to get us out of this. TONY!”_ His eyes flew open at her mental yell, and Jo slumped against the metal restraining her. She really hates being restrained. 

“What the—”

“I’m gonna assume Doom, since we were out looking for him. Can you get free?” Tony’s got metal bands wrapped around him too, but he might be a little stronger than her in the suit. She watched him struggle, shift from side to side, but nothing happened. Yep, they’re doomed. That’s not a pun either. 

“It’s okay. I’ve got the JARVIS link-up. I’ll just alert Johnny and—OW! What the hell?!” Tony was shaking his head back and forth, face screwed up in pain, and Jo took a quick peak. There’s a loud screeching inside of Tony’s head, like the worst kind of static, and Jo heard herself cry out as she pulled back. 

“What was that?!” she screeched. She’s never heard anything quite like it, and the inside of her mind feels all scrambled. 

“That is my guarantee that neither of you will be able to escape.” Jo was able to turn her head just enough to look at Doom, and he looks the same as he did the last time she saw him. The metal mask over his face really freaks her out, and what’s with the hood? 

“That’s dirty, even for you,” Tony said. Doom is constantly scrambling the electronics, so Tony can’t call out for help. Or even use that super powered brain of his to help them out. 

“I did my homework.” He’s smiling under that mask. Jo can just feel it. “It’s nice to see you again as well, Josephine.”

“I’m punching you in the face as soon as I’m free,” she promised. She told Reed that she’d try not to kill him, but a little punch shouldn’t kill him. Just hurt him a little. 

“You won’t get free. Tell me, Josephine, can your regeneration keep you alive if I drop you into the ocean? If I tie you to your boss and weigh you down? Will you live long enough to watch him die?” The metal restraints rattled as she pushed against them, but there was no give. She could hear herself snarl, a really ugly sound, but Doom just laughed. 

_“Don’t worry, sweetheart. We’ll get out of this.”_

_“How?”_ Doom is still laughing, and he’s going to drop them into the ocean. Even her regeneration will give up if she’s left down there long enough, and Tony will drown long before she does. 

_“I don’t know.”_

**.xXx.**

A closet? Doom shoved her into a closet? Just who does he think she is? She is so tired of people underestimating her! Well, maybe it’s okay just this once. If Doom doesn’t see her as a threat, it means that she has some wiggle room. With a quick shake to rejuvenate herself, Doreen got to her feet and looked around. Yep, definitely a closet. It doesn’t sound like Doom is anywhere close by, so she carefully cracked the door open. Coast is clear.

She stayed low to the ground as she crept around the aircraft, and she thanked her lucky stars for her superb hearing. Doom was moving off, farther away, and she slipped into the room he just left. Control room. Perfect. She found an outside speaker system, because she’s got smarts, and quickly held the button down. She spoke quickly, because time is of the essence, and she popped open the pouch on her belt when she was done. Monkey Joe stuck his head out and glared up at her, but she just shrugged. She didn’t mean to keep him locked up in there for so long, so he’ll just have to deal. 

“You lead the others, okay?” she whispered. He flicked his tail at her and disappeared, and Doreen collapsed into the pilot’s chair as she waited. Within minutes, alarms were blaring all over the place. The monitors in front of her were flashing as parts of the aircraft started to fail, and they’ll be making a landing any moment now. She should probably go find Doom. And Ironman and the Tank. She can’t be too mad at them for laughing at her; they just need to be enlightened. 

This time she walked down the halls with her head held high, because this baby is coming down. Doom shouldn’t have underestimated her. She could hear yelling coming from up ahead, and she headed that way. The scene was magnificent, and she paused in the doorway to truly appreciate it. Squirrels were swarming over Doom, who was trying to fight them off and failing. Ironman and the Tank were staring at the scene with wide disbelieving eyes, and a pair of dark green eyes finally noticed her. Doreen raised a finger to her lips and then walked into the room. Doom was facing away from her, and she picked up a giant metal…something. Pipe, maybe? Whatever it was, it was big. 

“That’s for shoving me in a closet!” she yelled once Doom was on the ground. He looks unconscious, because she hit him in the head, but it’s hard to tell. “Hey, Tank, is he out?”

“I, uh, can’t tell. It’s the weird helmet-mask thing. I can’t hear him,” she got out. The woman still looks thoroughly shocked, and Ironman has the same expression. Doreen shrugged and reached down to yank off the metal clinging to Doom’s face. Oh, wow, the mask should have stayed on. That’s just gross. She looked back up at the Tank, who slowly nodded. “Definitely unconscious.”

“How did you…What just…Who are you?” Ironman stuttered out. She straightened up, felt Monkey Joe crawling up her arm until he was perched on her shoulder, and propped her fists on her hips. 

“I’m Squirrel Girl.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, flashbacks. I know they might be lacking Deadpool’s usual insanity, but they’re his memories. That’s how he remembers things. He’s telling Bruce the stories, and I imagine him throwing in a bunch of random shit while he spins their tale. It was fun to write about pre-ROSE Jo, to explore who she was before that defining arc of her life. 
> 
> Sadly, I can’t take any credit for the Squirrel Girl takedown of Doom. That’s pretty much straight from the comics. (Minus Jo, of course. Tony was there to witness the epicness that is Squirrel Girl.)
> 
> If anyone has any questions, I’d be happy to answer them! Or if you just want to talk superheroes, I’m okay with that too.


	29. It's A Sacrifice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _be a dose of protection_   
>  _through the blood and the tears_   
>  _if you’re losing yourself_   
>  _then my body is here_   
>  **Sacrifice by Zella Day**   
> 

“So, we’re in Paris and then all of a sudden, BOOM! Some asshat starts shootin’ at us like we stole somethin’, which I did, but Jo turns right around and—”

“Bruce! Wade! Get in here!” Bruce startled a little at the loud yell, and Deadpool froze mid-sentence. That’s the first time that Bruce has heard Clint call the mercenary by his actual name; he wasn’t sure that anyone did, except for Jo. 

“Is that a frowny face, Clinton?!” Deadpool yelled as he fell backwards off the bench. He landed on his feet, and Bruce quickly moved behind him. They followed Clint inside the building, that Deadpool technically wasn’t allowed inside of, and he could see everyone clustered together. Sue and Reed were whispering to each other, and Thor was standing next to two people that he didn’t recognize. One was about Hulk’s size and looked like he was made out of rocks, and the other guy looked like he could be Steve’s younger brother. It was the blonde hair and blue eyes. 

“Johnny! Where’s my Josie?” Deadpool yelled as they got closer. The other guy is Johnny Storm? That makes sense. That’s Jo’s ex?

“About that—” Sue screamed as Deadpool suddenly lifted Johnny into the air, by his throat, and the mercenary kicked the rocky guy away when he tried to pull them away. The other guy, Jo said his name was Ben, went flying across the space and knocked into a wall several feet away. 

“What did you do this time?” Deadpool shook Johnny like he was a ragdoll, and Thor stepped up to Deadpool’s side. He placed one hand on his shoulder, and Deadpool’s neck made a cracking sound when he looked over at the god. 

“Perhaps we would receive more answers if he could speak,” Thor said in a calm voice. It must have gotten through to Deadpool, because he let Johnny drop to the floor. His knees buckled so that he dropped to the floor, and one knee kept him from completely falling over. Ben stepped up to his side as Sue rushed over to him, but Johnny waved them both off. 

“It’s okay, I’m fine. I said I’m fine!” Sue stepped back and away, and Johnny slowly got to his feet while massaging his throat. 

“We split up, to cover more ground. Jo wouldn’t leave Tony’s side, so they went together. We kept communications open. Two hours ago, we got nothing but static from both of them. We backtracked to their location, but there was nothing there.” Johnny spoke slowly, like it hurt to speak, and his neck was turning red. 

“If she’s dead, so are you,” Deadpool said with a finger pointed right in Johnny’s direction. Jo said her breakup with Johnny was an easy one, but it sounds like Deadpool really doesn’t like him. Is it because of Jo or something else?

“Jo’s not dead. She’s Jo,” Clint said and clapped Deadpool on the shoulder. 

“Strong, not indestructible. Limits.” Deadpool raised his hands to press them against the sides of his head, and Clint moved to grab the back of his neck. Bruce knows the mercenary is unstable, but how unstable?

“We’ll go look for her. We’ll bring her home,” Clint said quietly. It looks like the archer has seen this before. 

“We will bring them both back unharmed,” Thor added. 

“Hey, Tony, check it out. We’ve got a search party.” The rough voice seemed to echo in the tense room, and Bruce only knew that he was moving because Jo kept getting closer. His arms crushed her to him, and he heard her loud laugh in his ear as she reached up to tangle her fingers in his hair. “Missed you too, Doc.”

**One Hour Earlier**

“Oh my God, stop it, you two! Get up!” After a lot of sweat and elbow grease, she was able to pry the Tank out of her restraints. The other woman helped, of course, because it was a joint effort. Then, together, they were able to free Ironman. Now the two superheroes are kneeling in front of her and taking turns bowing.

“We’re not worthy!” 

“I hate that movie!” They paused, finally, and looked at each other. Then they shrugged and went right back to the bowing. “Can we please just tie up Doom and get out of here?!”

“Seriously,” the Tank said as she jumped to her feet, “that was the most badass thing I have ever seen. You took down Victor von Doom. One of the smartest people in the world. With _squirrels_.”

“He’s not smarter than me,” Ironman was quick to point out. His bodyguard raised a brow at him but didn’t say anything, and Doreen propped her fists on her hips as she looked at the now standing heroes. 

“The point is, I am sorry for laughing earlier. I’m not an Avenger so I don’t really get a vote, but I’m rootin’ for you,” the Tank said with a big toothy grin. So, all she had to do was take down a super villain to get the respect she deserves? That was easy. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m sorry too. I’ll nominate you as soon as the team is back together.” He sounds cocky, but he’s smiling. Ironman is gonna nominate her to be an Avenger. The Tank is rooting for her. 

“And you gotta stop calling us by our codenames. I’m Jo,” she said and stuck a hand out. It’s covered by the suit she’s wearing, there’s something circular pressed against her palm, and Doreen clapped her palm against the metal. 

“Doreen Green. Nice to finally meet ya.” They let go with a smile, and she looked over at…what is she supposed to call him?

“You know who I am. Tony is fine.”

“Or asshole, if he’s in a mood.” Jo’s smile was sweet, and Tony just smiled right back at her. Those two are weird. “So! Let’s tie up Doom. Tony, you think you can fly this thing back to Greenland?”

“Please, this thing is a hunk of junk compared to my toys. Of course I can fly it. You ladies got this? Good!” He walked off, and Doreen didn’t know that it was possible to swagger while encased in metal. 

“That’s Tony for you. Always proving the impossible.” It was said with a fond little smile as she started picking up the metal restraints, and Doreen realized that she’d just had her mind read. 

“You do that a lot? Some would consider it a violation of privacy,” she pointed out. The mutant stopped what she was doing and straightened up to look over at her. 

“Yeah, sorry about that. Uh, sometimes I pick up on surface thoughts by accident. I’m still learning control. I’ll try not to let it happen again.” The other woman looks really apologetic too, so Doreen just shrugged. 

“Don’t worry about it. Just don’t go diggin’ around in here, and we’ll call it square.”

“Deal.” Together they used the restraints that had been on Tony and Jo to tie up Doom, and he only woke up once during their ride. Jo punched him once, right in the temple, and he slipped back into unconsciousness. It didn’t take them long to reach Greenland, despite Tony’s vehemence that his jets were better than Doom’s, and Doreen got the honor of slinging the unconscious villain over her shoulder. 

“You ready to meet a few more Avengers?” Tony asked her. They’re standing outside of the building where the Fantastic Four have been hiding out as they build specialized cells, and Doreen hefted Doom up a little more. 

“I was born ready.” Tony and Jo were both laughing as they opened the doors and walked inside, and they followed the sound of voices.

There was a couple standing away from everyone, and Doreen recognized them as Reed and Sue Richards right away. (Did Sue take Reed’s name when they got married?) Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm were standing off to the side too. In the center, were the Avengers minus two and plus one. Captain America and Black Widow were missing. (Doreen does her research, okay?) Hawkeye was standing next to a guy in a red suit, who has got to be Deadpool, and Thor is at his other side. They’re talking quietly, but Doreen is so busy taking everything in that she can’t focus on the words. 

“Hey, Tony, check it out. We’ve got a search party.” Oh, that makes sense. They think that Jo and Tony are missing, which maybe they were? Doreen’s eyes widened as one of the men started walking towards them, at a very fast pace, and she’s seen that face in classified documents. That’s Dr. Banner. The human counterpart of the Hulk. He’s heading straight for Jo. What did the Tank-like mutant do to piss off the Hulk?

His arms wrapped around Jo’s ribcage, and the hold looked tight enough to hurt. Maybe it would’ve hurt a normal human, but Jo just laughed. She raised her arms to wrap them around the man’s shoulders, and Doreen watched the way that her gloved fingers disappeared inside of his wild curls. Her lips brushed against his ear as she whispered about how she missed him too, and it clicked. Okay, wow. Jo’s dating Hulk, or the human side of him anyway. Good to know. 

“Josie!” The man in the red suit came running forward and jumped onto both of them, and all three of them went crashing to the ground. She’s heard stories about Deadpool, and this has got to be him. 

“You gonna introduce us to your new friend?” Hawkeye asked. They’re not worried about the pile of bodies on the floor? Is this normal for them?

“Everyone!” Tony paused until everyone was looking at him and then continued. “This is Squirrel Girl, and she just took down Doom.”

**.xXx.**

“It’s totally not them, right?” Darcy asked. She’s in Pepper’s New York office, which is very tastefully done and somehow manages to mix hominess with modernism, and she’s looking at the flat screen on the far wall. There’s a news report on, from China. There was an explosion, a big one that completely destroyed some abandoned amusement park, and she is not freaking out.

“I’m sure they are all just fine,” Pepper said quietly. Pepper is at her desk, and Darcy is sitting across from her. There was an explosion, in China. Clint and Thor are in China. What if that explosion has something to do with them? What if they set it off? What if they—

“Incoming call, Miss Potts.” That’s JARVIS’s voice. She didn’t know JARVIS was hooked up to Pepper’s office, but she’s not exactly surprised either. 

“We’ll take it.” There was a little click and then there was an explosion of sound. It mostly sounded like laughter, and yelling. 

“Pepper!” That’s Tony. 

“Hi, Pepper!” That’s Jo. 

“Darcy is here too.”

“Darcy!” Tony and Jo yelled together. 

“Outta the way, Josie! Hi, Darcy!” That’s definitely Clint. 

“Hello, Darcy!” Thor’s booming voice was the loudest, and Darcy slumped a little in her chair. They’re all okay. 

“Hi, Darcy, Pepper,” Bruce said quietly. 

“Hey, pretty ladies!” Okay, that’s a voice that she doesn’t know. 

“Nuh-uh, no hittin’ on Pepper and Darcy, Uncle Wade!” That’s the Deadpool guy that Jo talks about, and Clint sometimes. What’s he doing there?

“This is my phone call! All of you, go away!” Tony yelled. The sounds slowly died down, so Tony must have walked away. There was still muffled shouting in the distance. “Sorry. We got Arcade and Doom, so everyone is celebrating.”

“Celebrating?” Pepper asked with a little smile. Looks like the other woman is just as relieved as Darcy is. 

“Yeah, but there’s no booze! Promise.” Darcy’s eyes widened as she looked over at Pepper, but she shook her head. Okay, Darcy won’t say anything. Right now. 

“I trust you, Tony. When will you be coming home?” Darcy sat forward in her chair, because she really has missed everyone. She misses Tony’s off-key singing and Jo’s teasing; she misses Clint’s smiles and Thor’s laugh; she misses watching Bruce scribble on napkins at dinner and Natasha threatening to shoot Jo; she misses Steve’s cooking and Maria’s dry humor. She just misses all of them. 

“Few days. Richards wants me to take a look at a few things, shouldn’t take long. Oh! We might have a house guest, for the foreseeable future. Possibly a new Avenger?” Pepper asked for details, and Tony told the story of a woman with squirrel-like powers that took down one of the strongest villains ever. Darcy really wants to meet this girl. She sounds awesome. 

“Few days?” Pepper asked when he was finished.

“Few days, I promise.” They said their I-love-yous and goodbyes, and Darcy slumped back in her chair when it was over. 

“I think we can make it on our for a few more days, don’t you?” Pepper asked her with a smile. Pepper is nice and understanding, but there is something that Darcy has been wanting to ask her. 

“How’d you know that Jo would take care of Tony?” The question seemed to catch Pepper off guard, because she dropped the papers she was holding. Neither of them looked at the falling papers; Darcy kept her eyes locked with Pepper’s and waited. 

“She took three bullets for him. Something told me that I could trust her to keep him safe, and I didn’t know what to do anymore,” Pepper said honestly. “I was hurting him more than I was helping him. He needed something different. Someone different.”

“And now?” They’re engaged now, but Pepper left him once before. It might have been for his own good, but she still left. Darcy can admit that she loves Tony, in her own weird way, and she doesn’t want to see him hurt. 

“Now, he’s been at his lowest. I don’t know everything, but I know enough. I know that things got really bad, and it was Jo that put him back together. She saved the man I love, and I will never be able to thank her enough for that. For helping Tony. For loving him.”

“You won’t leave him again?” Pepper shook her head, but Darcy wants to hear the words. 

“Never.” Well, that’s good enough for her. For now.

**.xXx.**

“How about Maria?” Natasha has been throwing names at him all throughout this mission, and he’s dismissed each one without a second thought. Analysists, technicians, secretaries…He knows their names and faces, but he doesn’t want to date any of them.

“Come again?” The mission is over. Another group threatening to attack the country has been dealt with, and he’s glad that the rest of the STRIKE force isn’t around to hear him and Natasha now. 

“Maria? Hill? Top SHIELD agent that’s been living with us for a couple of months.” He’s tired and confused. He just wants to go lay down in the room that SHIELD provided for him while he’s here. 

“What about Agent Hill?” Maria’s ribs have healed perfectly, so she’s back in the field. She won’t be in the house anymore. (She won’t need him to carry her around or cater to her, despite her insistence that she’s perfectly capable of taking care of herself. He knows that she’s perfectly capable, but he liked the way she smiled whenever he did something nice for her. Like she wasn’t used to the simple gestures.)

“You could ask her out on a date.”

“Not going to happen, Natasha.” He turned off to head towards his temporary apartment, and Natasha was gone when he looked over his shoulder. 

_The sun was bright and warm as they sat on the porch, in a poor attempt at hiding. Maria had one lock of hair from her bangs that continuously covered her left eye, and Steve’s fingers had itched for a sketchpad._

He drew the picture later that night, while the memory was still fresh.

**.xXx.**

“Shit, Johnny, that looks like it hurts,” Jo said and resisted the urge to poke the bruise on Johnny’s throat.

“Ya think?” he snapped. They’re standing in the kitchen, to get more drinks, and she can hear the others in the dining room. Tony keeps re-telling Doreen’s epic takedown of Doom, and she can hear the others laughing. Thor had been the most intrigued at the little warrior, and Clint kept saying that they should kick Jo out and replace her with the cooler mutant. Ben just congratulated her, and the big fella has spent most of the night talking to Bruce. Reed and Sue are mostly keeping to themselves, but she can tell that they’re both impressed with Doreen. 

“Sorry about that. Uncle Wade didn’t mean anything by it.” Speaking of Uncle Wade, he left about an hour ago. Said he had some things to take care of but that he’d see her again soon. 

“Yeah, I know, he’s just protective. Where have I heard that before?” Jo reached up to rub the back of her neck and tried not to apologize. She’s already apologized for that anyway. (They’d been back in New York for all of two weeks, still shaking off the mission from Greenland, when Jo invited Logan down to lunch. The first thing he did when he saw Johnny? Punched him in the face, and then said there’d be more to come if Johnny ever broke her heart. It’s a good thing they haven’t been around each other since then.) “Sorry, Holbrook, I know it’s not your fault. And I’m fine.”

“This time.” They both looked over at Sue, and Johnny quickly grabbed several bottles of water before hurrying away. Jo held still as Sue walked farther into the kitchen, and she took a small sip from her own bottle of water. “I told Deadpool he wasn’t allowed in the house.”

“What?! Why would you say that?!” Sue met her glare head-on, but Jo’s not backing down this time. 

“This isn’t the first time that he’s hurt Johnny!”

“From the way I remember it, Uncle Wade _saved_ Johnny!”

“After thinking about it for several minutes! Johnny could have been killed!”

“He was just looking out for me!” They were leaning towards each other, fists clenched at their sides, and they both took in a slow breath to help calm down. Uncle Wade came across Johnny in a tight spot after their breakup, and Jo’s honestly a little surprised that Uncle Wade helped her ex at all. His moral code is almost nonexistent.

“I know that he’s, different, but—”

“No, you don’t know. You don’t have a single fucking clue what it’s like for him. You don’t know what they did to him, how they broke him.” Sue’s eyes narrowed before clearing, and she lightly bit the corner of her lip. 

“Just like I don’t know what they did to you.” The words hurt, but Sue’s not wrong. Jo doesn’t talk about what happened to her at ROSE, so she’s never been able to explain why she turned out like she did. Why she’s done the things that she did. 

“Do you wanna know? I’m stronger now, so I can show you a slideshow. Give you a taste. Maybe then you’ll stop glaring at me so much.” Jo expected the other woman to turn the offer down, because no one wants someone else inside their head. Sue nodded though, and Jo’s not backing down. Sue has always looked down at her, so this might be her only chance to try and get the other woman to understand. 

“What should I do?” Sue asked and met her look head-on. 

“Hold tight,” she said and grabbed Sue’s hands. She closed her eyes and did her best to focus. Pulled up memories better left forgotten; let the fear and anger fill her up to make the images clearer. 

_The shocks make her teeth lock together and her muscles strain. Every time she cries out, the shocks get a little stronger. They keep her weak. Stop feeding her. Shocks around the clock. Test her limits. Reattach limbs to see if it’s possible. It’s worse when she cries._

_The nurse that comes to her in the night looks at her with dead eyes. She knows what they do, but she doesn’t care. She comes in like clockwork to press the button that shocks her. That keeps her weak. She’s so weak now. They don’t let her sleep. Don’t let her eat. She’s like a rabid animal, and she bites. She remembers killing the nurse. She broke free of her loose restraints, because she’s lost so much weight, but she still has the strength to break the woman’s neck before she can press the button. No more shocks._

_It’s been worse since she tried to get free. Killed the nurse. She killed someone. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts. They cut into her guts and into her brain. They promise to make her better, but they’re killing her instead. The first thought she hears is about death. The telepathy took for her, but one of the other test subjects didn’t survive._

_She’s scared, and the fear makes her angry. She’s lost, because she doesn’t know who she is anymore. Johnny helps. He makes her laugh and calls her beautiful. She wants to talk about the missions that SHIELD sends her on, needs to talk about the screams echoing in her own mind, but he shuts down whenever she starts. He doesn’t want to know. She’s drowning, in the fear and in the anger, but she doesn’t want to lose him. She’ll keep quiet, so she can keep him._

_Wanted to be a hero, when she was younger. Wanted to save people. Now she’s a killer, because what else can she do? Those doctors took away the part of her that felt clean; they dirtied her up as they chipped away at her. She kills bad people; she kills people that want to hurt others. She’ll get blood on her hands if it means that she can save someone else. Maybe, one day, the scales will balance. She’ll take enough lives and save enough lives in the process that everything will be balanced._

“Stop! Please, stop.” Jo instantly let go of the woman’s hands, and she was surprised to see tears streaking down Sue’s beautiful face. Sue’s too pretty to cry like that. 

“Sorry. Did I hurt you? I’m still learning how to do that,” Jo said quickly. 

“All that…pain, and fear. I didn’t know someone could survive that much,” Sue whispered. 

“Standing right here,” Jo said and crossed her arms. “And I don’t want any pity from you, Susan. I just want you to understand. You get it now, right?”

“You’re wrong.” Wow, even after all that, Sue still doesn’t like her?

“About which part?”

“You are a hero. You’ve saved enough lives to earn that title.” Jo snorted, but she’s not going to argue. Not when Sue has finally said something positive about her. 

“Does that mean no more death-glares?” Jo asked with a little smile. 

“I’ll try to hold back,” Sue said with a smile of her own. They’ll probably never be besties, so Jo will take what she can get. She nodded her head in Sue’s direction and started back towards the dining room, but Sue’s soft voice caught her attention. She looked over her shoulder and met the woman’s dry eyes. “I’m sorry that Johnny wasn’t there for you when you needed it.”

“Thanks.” It was said just loud enough for Sue to hear, and Jo lightly shook her head as she rejoined the others. Lots of memories were rattling inside of her brain, and they’re memories that she’d rather forget. Bruce’s eyes rose to meet hers as she got closer, and she could feel herself smiling as something inside of her seemed to fall away. Just looking at the man calms her down. 

“Everything okay?” Bruce whispered once she was comfortably seated in his lap. Tony is sitting next to them, and she’s going to say that he’s miming squirrel attacks going by his wild hand motions. 

“Yeah, everything’s good. You okay?” He’s warm and solid behind her, and his arms are loosely wrapped around her midsection. 

“I’m good.”

_“We should talk later though. Nothing bad, just catch up.”_ He raised a brow when she looked back at him, and she smiled. Even though they’re together, it still takes a lot of trust to ask someone to read your thoughts. 

_“Maybe now?”_ It’s been a really long day, and she’s tired. She wants to cuddle with Bruce, talk about their adventures, and then fall asleep in his arms. 

_“Now sounds good.”_ Bruce’s thoughts are like warmth and safety, which doesn’t really make sense except for how it totally does. 

“Alright, everyone, we’re callin’ it a night,” she said and stood up. She could feel Bruce’s hands on her hips as he stood up, and the majority of the people at the table started cheering and whistling. Immature, all of them. Even Doreen is banging her fist on the table and cheering, and now Thor has caught on and is doing it too. “All of you can kiss my ass.”

“Night, sweetheart!” Tony called as Clint made kissy noises at her retreating backside. It’s official. She’s kicking the hawk’s ass. First thing in the morning. Reed and Sue divided up rooms for all of them earlier, and Jo slipped into the room that she’s sharing with Bruce. Tony’s room is right next door, just in case one of them needs the other. 

“Let me change first?” she asked. She’d put on black yoga pants and a dark blue tank on under her new super suit, and parts of her feel grimy. Maybe she should take a shower first. 

“I was thinking we could shower first?” Bruce shifted like the question made him shy, which is just adorable considering they’ve already showered together quite a few times. 

“Best idea I’ve ever heard, Doc,” she said and reached for him. Their hands laced, and she pulled him after her into the bathroom.

**.xXx.**

“I like this small creature,” Thor said and used one finger to lightly pet the top of Monkey Joe’s head. Doreen is sitting next to a god. _A god_. She’s sitting next to Thor! Ironman and Hawkeye are across from her, and Hawkeye keeps asking for more details about her fight with Doom. The Fantastic Four have turned in for the night, along with Jo and Dr. Banner, so she’s just sitting with a few members of the Avengers.

“He likes you too,” Doreen informed him. Monkey Joe is having the time of his life, because apparently Thor is good at petting. 

“So! Boys, Squirrel Girl has made a request.” Tony spoke loud enough to get the other two guys to quiet down, and Doreen felt her brows raising. He’s gonna ask them now?

“And what request is this?” Thor asked. 

“Does she wanna be president of Earth? ‘Cause I’m cool with that,” Hawkeye said with a little wink in her direction. The archer is funny; he’d make a good friend. 

“I was not aware that Midgard had a singular ruler. You have my support as well.” Thor clapped a giant hand against her shoulder and gave her a little shake, and she smiled up at the big guy. Geeze, he is huge. He’s also strangely gentle. Such a paradox.

“I’m not running for president of anything,” Doreen pointed out. 

“She’s not running for president,” Tony added. 

“Then what’s the request, Stark?” Clint drawled out. If she didn’t know better, she’d think they’d all had a few rounds. There hasn’t been a drop of alcohol at the table though. 

“Squirrel Girl would like to be an Avenger,” Tony said and beamed a smile her way. She likes him better when he’s not being a complete douchebag. “I would like to be the first to nominate her.”

“Seconded!” 

“Aye!”

“Okay, so that’s three out of six. Bruce will say yes, because he’s Bruce.” She’s not really sure what that statement means, but she’s not gonna argue. “That leaves Steve and Natasha. Bird-boy, how do you think your life partner will vote?”

“Well, she’ll want a full list of Squirrel Girl’s strengths and weaknesses. Possibly a demonstration. I know you got squirrels on your side, but how are you at hand-to-hand combat?” Clint’s being mostly serious now; his face is serious, but his eyes are bright like he’s laughing. Natasha…Natasha Romanoff, Black Widow. Are her and Clint? Not that it’s any of her business, of course. 

“Strengths…okay, I can do this. Well, there’s the obvious. I can communicate with squirrels. Not telepathically; we just understand each other. I’ve got the super senses-strength, speed, agility, smell, eyesight, and reflexes. A healing factor. My tail’s been pretty useful in a few fights. Oh! And I have these really cool knuckle spikes.” She raised her fists and let the spikes protrude from her knuckles slowly, just so they could really get a good look at them, and then quickly retracted them. The spikes are only about three inches long, but she can do some damage with them. 

“Weaknesses?” Clint asked. He looks suitably impressed, so she’ll answer him. 

“The usual, I guess. My healing factor ain’t nothing like the Tank’s, and my strength can only last for so long. Everyone has limits, right?” 

“Can we keep her?” Clint asked and batted his lashes at Tony. 

“And the little squirrel as well?” Thor added. Aww, the big guy wants to keep her little buddy around. 

“We’ve got four out of six votes. I’m sure Steve can be persuaded. As for Natasha, I think she’ll okay it. You might have to fight her first,” Tony said and looked right at her. 

“I’m always up for a friendly fight,” she said as she kept looking at him. That got him to laughing, along with Clint and Thor, and she relaxed back in her seat. These guys are alright.

**.xXx.**

“Well, you’ve pretty much heard everything about my mission from Tony,” Jo said as she collapsed into the bed. Her thighs tensed and relaxed as she fell still, and she could still feel the light bruises on her thighs. Mmm, she has really missed Bruce. He really missed her too, going by the bruises on her thighs and the slightly darker mark on her shoulder. She could let them heal, but those places feel just a little hotter than the rest of her skin so she’s gonna hold onto them for a little bit. Her healing will kick in when she falls asleep.

“It’s a good thing Doreen was there,” Bruce said as he slipped into bed next to her. The Doc is stripped down to just a pair of Hulk shorts, and there’s so much tempting skin laid out in front of her. She’s gotta focus though. Plus, she’s a little more dressed so that should help with the temptation. (Okay, she’s wearing a pair of Tony’s silky red boxers and one of her own black tanks, but it’s more than she usually wears to bed.)

“Are you saying I should have been nicer to her? Because I was mostly just surprised. She came out of nowhere and started talking about being an Avenger, and her mind is so…I didn’t read her thoughts or anything, but I can always _feel_ a person if I’m not blocking everything out. She was soft,” Jo said with a shrug. Bruce moved so that he was sitting up against the headboard, and Jo wiggled around until she was mirroring his position. Now they’re sitting up and can see each other. She likes being able to look into Bruce’s eyes when they talk. 

“Well, I’m glad she was there. To help you.” Help, right. Jo can admit it. Doreen saved her ass. And Tony’s. 

“Alright, how’d your mission go?” she asked with a little smile. Bruce fidgeted, but he didn’t look away. She’s already got a bad feeling about this. 

It started out simple enough. Deadpool showed up as they were stepping off the jet in China, because her Uncle Wade is crazy like that. They were able to find the kids pretty fast, which made Jo sigh in relief. Until he told her that one of the kids didn’t make it. Remy took their jet so that he could get the remainder of the kids back home, to the school, and Clint called in for another jet. Uncle Wade was still down in Murderworld, looking for Arcade, so Bruce went with Clint and Thor to find him. To help him. That’s where everything went wrong. While looking for Uncle Wade, they were all hit with some gas. 

“I don’t…Hulk doesn’t…Neither of us really remember waking up. One moment there was gas, thick and choking us, and then we were in this room. Deadpool was there, but it wasn’t Deadpool. A part of us knew who was in there with us and that he wasn’t a threat, but the rage…I’ve never felt rage like that. Neither of us. Before, even when bombs were being shot at us, we were never like that. We could still think, plan. In there? The other person, Deadpool, had to die. But he just kept pulling himself back together, over and over again. Each time he did, we got angrier and angrier. We did everything we could to destroy him, to make it stop…it would stop if he would just stay dead, but he won’t. He’s just laughing and taunting and screaming…”

_“Come on and kill me! You can’t! I’m mother-fucking-immortal!” Deadpool is screaming with his head turned around backwards, which shouldn’t be possible. Everything is pulsing in shades of red. The color of their anger. Blades of the strongest metal are cutting through to the radioactive blood underneath, and they have to kill him. Kill him and it’ll stop. Kill him and it’ll stop. Kill him and—_

“Bruce!” Her hands were pressed against his cheeks, and he closed his eyes as he took a few slow deep breaths. He’d gotten lost inside his head, so she had to go in after him. Oh, Bruce. Him and Hulk never should have gone through that. 

“He thanked me for the neck massage when it was over.” Bruce slowly opened his eyes once the words were out, and her smile felt a little shaky. 

“Uncle Wade is weird like that,” she said with a shrug. 

“When we got back, Sue said he wasn’t allowed in the house. So, we sat outside and talked. About you. He’s different…but he cares about you.” The words warmed her heart, possibly literally because her chest feels a little tighter and hotter. Sue wouldn’t let Uncle Wade in the house, so Bruce stayed with him. He didn’t have to do that. Uncle Wade can take care of himself. 

“I’m guessing he told you all the embarrassing stories?” she asked with a little laugh. 

“You can look and see.” She’s already straddling Bruce’s lap, has been since she went in to pull him out of his memories, so it was easy to reach up and bury her hands in his hair. She leaned forward to rest her forehead against his, and she listened to her Uncle Wade tell their story. From the time they met until Paris after her retirement. He skipped some stuff and spoke a lot of nonsense, but the stories got through. He might be insane, but her Uncle Wade really does love her. Told Bruce that she was a light in the darkness, that she got a little dusty but she’s shining bright again. 

“Can I tell you something, Bruce?” She’s sitting back now, and Bruce reached up to brush the hair away from her face. Some parts of it are drying; she really should put it up, or maybe Bruce will braid it for her. 

“Anything.” It’s just one word, but it means so much to her. Everything to her. So she started talking. She’s decided that Bruce is it for her, and she’s going to do this right. She’s going to tell him everything. About her life back when she was in school, everything that happened to her at ROSE, and all of the horrible things she did while working for SHIELD. 

They were lying down by the time she was finished, and Jo had her cheek pressed against Bruce’s chest. She could hear his heartbeat right under her ear, and it was a soothing sound as she talked about all the people she’s killed. All the missions she went on. Bruce listened to it all and never once asked her to stop. He just held her and let her talk, and that’s all she’s ever really wanted. For someone to hear the worst of her and still hold her. When she was done, she tilted her face up to meet his eyes. 

“You’ve seen the people I killed.” From his nightmare; she remembers the faces from all the files. 

“But you didn’t mean to. They were accidents.”

“And yours were on purpose. We’ve all done things that we regret.”

“I don’t regret all the kills though. Some of them probably didn’t deserve to die, but most of them did. I don’t regret killing them.” Bruce’s brows furrowed as he thought, and Jo forced herself not to look into his mind. Bruce will say what he’s thinking when he’s ready. 

“There’s no shame in that, Jo. You did what was right,” Bruce said quietly. No shame. Reed, Sue, and even Johnny looked down at her for getting blood on her hands. Bruce doesn’t think she should be ashamed. “What you’ve done, it’s a sacrifice. You did what others couldn’t. Your strength is something to be proud of.”

“Keep saying things like that and I might have to jump you.” She’s making a joke, but it’s just so that she won’t start crying. Bruce’s words are like a balm on her soul. (If she has a soul. She’ll have to ask Thor later, since he’s her god and everything.)

“I’m just telling you the truth.” She nuzzled down against his chest and felt his fingers sinking into her hair. 

“What did I do to deserve you?” she whispered. 

“You looked past the monster to see something more.” She doesn’t like anyone calling Hulk a monster, but she understands what he means. She sees him for who he is, and she accepts him. If they keep this up, she’s going to fall in love. Maybe she’s already falling. 

“You’re getting the best kind of wakeup call in the morning. Just saying.” Bruce’s laugh was quiet in their dark room and made their bodies rock together, and she tightened her arms around him. 

“Goodnight, Jo.”

“Night, Bruce.”

**.xXx.**

“This is your target, understand?” Blank eyes stared up at him; there was nothing behind the flat gray color. The bright lights in the room did nothing to the color of his eyes and shone against the metal that made up his left arm.

“This is my target,” he repeated. His still wet hair clung to his cheeks, and his body jolted as the attendants forced his arms into a vest. He’s only been out of containment for an hour, but he’s already so responsive. 

“You are not to kill her. Herd her towards this address. Memorize it.” Eyes flicked down to the file, widened the slightest bit, and then raised again. 

“Eight-ninety fifth avenue,” he recited. There’s no emotion or recognition in his voice. All the asset knows is his mission, because that’s all he needs to know. 

“You are to maneuver her into place in three days, then report back here immediately.”

“Immediately.”

“The wound is to appear fatal, but not actually fatal. If she dies, you will be punished. Understand?”

“Punished if she dies.” It’s like a robot made of living flesh. A machine that takes orders; someone to do the dirty work without a conscience. The man really is the perfect soldier. 

“What is the target’s name?” He waited, because this is crucial, and the asset didn’t disappoint.

“Daisy Kay Johnson.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason I just really loved the idea of everyone starting to panic and thinking about starting a search party, then BOOM! No search party needed. Never doubt Tony and Jo. And Squirrel Girl, of course. 
> 
> The little Steve snippet is before the events of Winter Soldier, but I am leading up to that. I’m working on Chapter 33 now, and I think that’s where it’s really going to start up. So that part is just after some random mission. Oh, and the little flashback is from where they all played hide-n-seek a few chapters ago.
> 
> The little flashback slideshow that Jo showed Sue is not going to make the other woman instantly forgive her. There will always be a little friction between the two of them, but I wanted Sue to understand why Jo turned out the way she did. Also, Jo has told Bruce everything about her! Which is a really big deal for normal people, so it’s an even bigger thing for Jo. Yay for relationship progress!
> 
> Deadpool will pop up at random times, so you haven’t seen the end of him. Squirrel Girl, on the other hand, is here to stay! I’d love to know everyone’s thoughts about her, because I am really having fun writing her character. 
> 
> Can anyone decipher that last little part? Because it’s a HUGE part.


	30. Sounds Complicated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“Calm before the storm? There’s a tornado headed straight for me, Clinton!”_
> 
> _“It’s just a little one, Josie. Your hair isn’t even blowin’ in the wind yet.”_
> 
> **Jo & Clint, over comms, before Clint saved Jo from a tornado with an outlawed jet maneuver**

**September 3, 2014**

“Jo, can you hear me?” The voice isn’t quite whispered, but it’s still soft. Jo stirred just a little and reached a hand out, which was immediately engulfed in warmth.

“Thought I was supposed to wake you up?” She’s trying for sultry, but she’s not really awake so she doubts it’s working. Bruce laughed, a sound that made her toes curl, and she shifted so that she could open her eyes and see him. He’s completely dressed, in slacks and a button-up, and that’s a shame. 

“Tony and Reed asked for my help. I didn’t want to be rude,” Bruce said with a little shrug. The sun is just barely starting to rise, she can see little shafts of light coming in through the window, and the boys are already working. Why isn’t she surprised?

“Mmm, I’d never ask you to turn down science,” she mumbled. Later though, when the science is over, she’s gonna ravage him. 

“I didn’t want to leave without telling you, and, um, I was wondering if, would you like me to, um—”

“Are you asking for a quickie? Because I can wake up for a quickie.” She struggled to open her eyes again and was rewarded with the sight of Bruce blushing. Ooh, that’s a really dark blush too. Even now, he still gets so shy around her sometimes. It’s adorable. 

“I was going to ask if you want your hair braided.” Great, now she’s the one blushing. Sex with Bruce is like nothing she’s ever experienced with anyone else, but she’s still getting used to the more intimate things. Like telling Bruce every little thing about her and letting him braid her hair. 

“Does it require me to get up?” She’s teasing, just a little. The honest truth is that she’d probably do anything, if Bruce was the one asking. 

“No, you don’t have to get up. Brush in your bag?” She hummed as she nodded, and she felt the bed shift as Bruce got up. She’s stretched out on her stomach, and she felt Bruce sit down next to her hip. The bed dipped so that her hip curved against his, and she felt the brush lightly pulling through her tangles. 

“You’ll keep an eye on Tony for me, won’t you? I think him and Reed respect each other, but that only goes so far,” Jo said quietly as Bruce’s fingers started moving through her hair. She’s going to be lulled right back into sleep, she can already tell. 

“I’ll do my best,” Bruce said with an amused huff. Before she came along, Bruce was Tony’s friend. He knows how the other genius can be. Tony is hard to deal with sometimes, especially if you’re not already endeared to him. 

“Tony means well, he really does. He’s just…Tony,” Jo said and attempted to shrug. She’s pretty sure that one shoulder moved. 

“Maybe the science will keep him distracted.” Jo hummed and sighed at the loss when Bruce finished with her hair. He’s too efficient. Why can’t it take him an hour or two to finish her hair? Then again, that means an hour or two of Tony and Reed being alone together. 

“I’ll see you later,” Bruce whispered as he ran a finger over the length of her hair. She twisted around enough to grab his wrist, and a smile pulled at her lips as she tugged Bruce down to her. She kept the kiss light, because she hasn’t brushed her teeth or anything, and Bruce was smiling when he pulled away from her. 

“Later,” Jo whispered back. She watched him leave and waited until the door was closed before rolling over onto her other side. The curtains are pulled back, so she can feel the rising sun against her skin. Can see the warm glow on the inside of her eyelids. It’s comforting, and she wants to rest for just a little bit longer. Then she’ll get up. 

She’s not sure how long she was asleep before something pulled her out of her wonderful sleep, and it took a moment for her to realize what woke her. The back of her eyelids were dark, and she can’t feel the sun anymore. There’s also a really cold draft in the room. Her legs shuffled against the bed as her eyes opened, and her gaze went straight for the window. Skintight black and red suit, a humming that jumps genres, and the low sound of distant screams. That’s another thing that no one knows. Behind all the voices and insanity, there’s screams. The tortured sound never stops, and it’s always there in the back of his mind. 

“Can’t fool me, Josie Posie. I know when you are sleeping! I know when you are awake! Who am I?” He’s sitting framed in the window, but he’s facing her now. 

“Santa’s suit is red and white,” she pointed out as she lifted herself up. Her legs pulled up as her torso lifted off the bed, and she groaned a little as she twisted into a sitting position. Uncle Wade is looking down at his suit and lightly poking parts of it, and Jo smiled. “Santa probably has less weapons too. Just sayin’.”

“No weapons. They’re goodies! For all the boys and girls!” Jo likes it when Uncle Wade is all happy and carefree, even if it means that she gets a little lost when he starts singing. 

“Uhuh, sure. Come in and close the window, would ya?” He rolled into the room, ninja-style, and threw his arms up like a cheerleader once he was standing. She can even hear a loud _ta-da!_ echoing in his mind. “I’m only giving you a six for that, because I’ve seen you jump off buildings and turn flips in the air.”

“You’re a tough cookie to crack.” She just beamed a smile at him and then made her way into the bathroom. She’s still got a bag in the bathroom, one filled with clothes and a smaller one inside of it with toiletries, and that’s all she needs. Once she took care of the refreshing routine, she tugged on some clothes. A pair of her own grey skinny jeans, one of Tony’s black tanks with an Ironman face on it, and one of Bruce’s dark blue button-ups. What? She wants both of them with her today. 

“What’s with that look?” Deadpool is sitting in one of the chairs in the bedroom, and she can feel his judging gaze as she rolls her sleeves up. 

“Your fashion sense is nearly nonexistent. You realize that, right?” He’s judging her clothes? She looked down at herself, at the slight contrasting colors, and shrugged. 

“I’m comfy, and who do I need to impress?” Tony and Bruce accept her as she is, Clint and Thor are her friends, and the Fantastic Four have to be at least a little civil because she’s their guest. Doreen doesn’t seem like the type to be impressed by fashionable clothes, but she could be wrong. 

“Me. Duh.” She nudged his shoulder, so that he toppled off the side of the chair he was sitting on, and moved over to the bed. 

“I’ve already impressed you. Light in the darkness, right?” She could hear him grumbling behind her, could hear the thumps and clinks of all the deadly things on his body, but she focused on making the bed. 

“Big guy told ya, huh?” She met the eyes of Uncle Wade’s mask as she moved to the other side of the bed, and she couldn’t help her smile. 

“He did, and I told him everything too.”

“Everything-everything?” Uncle Wade whispered. 

“Yep, every last little thing. Talked about Ma and Logan, the school, ROSE, SHIELD. He just listened and held me, and you know what he said afterwards?”

“Better have been somethin’ nice,” Uncle Wade said in a sing-song voice. 

“Said that I had nothing to be ashamed of, that I was strong, that I should be proud. Can you believe that, Uncle Wade?” She’s sitting on the edge of the made bed, closest to Uncle Wade, and she’s still smiling. Parts of last night feel like a dream, but it really happened. For years, she thought no one would be able accept the real her. The one that killed without regrets. 

“Hey, Josie, don’t get lost.” Uncle Wade is kneeling in front of her, whispering, and she wants to reach out to him. She knows how much it hurts him though, and she hates that. 

“I would destroy worlds to bring you peace, you know that? If there was a way to save you, to make the pain stop, would you tell me?” He’s rolling his eyes, she can just tell, because he doesn’t do well with sentiment. He never really has, which is strange considering just how caring he can be sometimes. 

“Only death can save me,” he said quietly. 

_“But I’m gonna live forever,”_ his mind screamed. 

“I don’t believe that,” was her counter. There’s gotta be a way to stop the pain that he constantly feels. 

“We’re not here to talk about me. We’re here to talk about you,” he said and lightly poked the end of her nose. 

“What about me?” she asked with a shaky smile. 

“The big guy, he’s good for you. Ol’ Sue kicked me out, but he stayed with me. Didn’t do it for me, did it for you. I haven’t seen you this bright since graduation,” Uncle Wade said and started tapping his fingers against her knees. Graduation, from the school. They laid on the roof and talked about her future plans. Logan had paced in her room below them, and he’d caught her when she snuck back into her room. He’d heard every word, about her plans to run around Europe with Uncle Wade, but Logan didn’t once tell her not to go. 

“It’s not just him, you know. It’s Tony, and Darcy, and Clint, and all the others. They’ve been really good for me. I feel like I belong to a family,” she said with a shrug. Yeah, they’re a team, but they’re more than that too. 

“Always had a family, Josie.” She reached up so that she could feel his smile through the mask and tried not to flinch at the fresh wave of pain that he felt. It didn’t stop him from smiling. 

“I know. I’ve always had you, and Logan, and Anna Marie. Nothin’ wrong with a bigger family, is there?” He shrugged. “Will you come back with us? To New York?”

“Don’t think the metal head will like that,” Uncle Wade said with a laugh. 

“He’ll be okay with it, because he’ll know it’s what I want. Families compromise, and I think he’ll like you once he gets to know you.” His laugh was loud and sharp in the room, and Jo carefully dropped her arms around his shoulders. 

“Let me take care of business, and I’ll think about it.” He stood up in one fluid motion and was back at the window by the time she had registered the words. 

“Need some help?” He paused in the open window, while standing on the sill, and he looked over his shoulder at her. 

“Nah, it’s gonna get messy. Messy helps me think. Bye, Josie!” He jumped out of the window, and Jo would’ve rushed to the window to check on him but she knows better. Uncle Wade loves jumping off of things, and she knows that he’ll be okay. 

“Me thinks it’s time for breakfast,” she mumbled to herself and stood up.

**.xXx.**

Doreen was enjoying a big bowl of cereal, frosted flakes, when the Tank finally entered the dining room. About time. She might idolize the Avengers and everything, but being the only girl in the room will never be any fun. Thor and Clint are talking to Ben and Johnny, loudly, and Doreen would join in…but it’s still early. Can’t these guys be normal and be grouchy first thing in the morning? Thor is literally jovial right now.

“Mornin’,” Jo said as she collapsed into a chair between Doreen and Clint. Her long hair has been braided so that it’s hanging down her back, and her dark green eyes are clear. She’s yawning though, so at least someone here is normal. 

“What’s wrong, Holbrook? Didn’t get enough sleep last night?” Doreen can hear the teasing tone in Johnny’s voice, and Jo pointed her spoon at him. 

“I can kick your ass without ever getting out of this chair. You know that, right?” No one should look scary while holding a spoon, but the tank-like mutant is proving the improbable. 

“What if retirement made you rusty?” Clint snorted at Johnny’s inquiry, and it sounds like Jo might be growling. Just a little. It’s a scary sound. 

“You think I’m rusty?” Thor is smiling as he looks between the two of them, and Ben is grumbling under his breath about the both of them being idiots. 

“Just pointing out that it’s a possibility,” Johnny shrugged. 

“After I finish eating my Wheaties, I’m kicking your ass.”

“You wish!” Jo and Johnny glared at each other from across the table, and Doreen watched in amazement as they raced each other to finish their cereal. They’re like giant children. Within minutes, both of their bowls were empty and they were striding off. Ben and Clint were hurrying after them, and Thor paused to look back at her. 

“Would you like to join us, Doreen?” Would she like to watch the Tank and the Human Torch fight? Yeah, that’s something that she really needs to see. 

“Wouldn’t miss it,” she said and quickly got up to follow him. Today is going to be a good day.

**.xXx.**

“What do you think, Jade? Is the red tasteful?” Darcy asked as she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. Jade is standing on the sink, looking at her. It’s too bad she can’t read the chicken’s mind. It’d make their conversations a lot easier. The chicken lightly pecked against the dark red fabric, and Darcy smiled as she reached down to touch the shiny dark feathers. “Red it is then. Don’t suppose you have any advice about running my own meeting?”

The chicken stayed silent, and Darcy sighed. She’s pretty sure that Jade is supporting her, in silence. She’s got this.

**.xXx.**

“Draw!” Ben yelled. Jo and Johnny both went still, and it looked like they were going to argue. They fell apart as they started laughing instead, and Doreen shook her head with a little smile. That was an intense fight, even if it was a friendly one, but it looks like the two are still friends. Doreen got to watch the fight up on a platform with the others, and she’s grateful to be above. Looks like things got hot down there. Literally. There was a lot of fire. Johnny and Jo are back with them now though, and Ben and Thor are talking about heading down for a spar.

“Hey, Jo?” The mutant swiped a stray piece of hair off of her forehead as she turned towards Doreen, and Doreen tried to smile. It probably looks like a grimace or some other stupid face. 

“You wanna spar?” Wow, she’s really pretty when she smiles. Doreen’s always had a small weakness for dimples though. 

“Against you? Yeah, no, definitely not. I like my face just the way it is,” she said with a nervous little laugh. What? She’s still getting used to these people. 

“I like your face the way it is too,” Jo said with an actual laugh. 

“Hey! No flirtin’ with squirrel girls! We don’t want Hulk gettin’ jealous!” Clint yelled. Johnny was cackling next to him, and Jo turned to face him and must have made a face because the mutant didn’t say anything. 

“So, whatcha need?” She looks all loose and relaxed, so maybe an early morning spar is like a good cup of coffee for her. Interesting. 

“I was just wondering if we could talk. In private.” That made Clint and Johnny howl in laughter, and Jo tossed a towel at them. 

“Yeah, just let me go get changed.” Right, she changed out of her normal clothes and into some workout clothes before getting in the ring with Johnny. The yoga pants and tank must be fire resistant too, because they’re both in one piece. Jo smiled at her one last time before disappearing, and Doreen waited outside of the bathroom. She felt awkward, just standing in the hallway, but it didn’t take Jo long to change. 

“Are those even yours?” The Ironman tank is tight in some places and loose in others, and the button-up looks a little baggy on her. 

“The tank is Tony’s, and the other shirt is Bruce’s. Why should I wear my clothes when I can have theirs?” Okay, she’s dating Bruce, so that makes sense. 

“Why Tony though?” The question just slipped out, but Jo didn’t seem to mind the personal question. 

“Tony and I have bonded during my employment as his bodyguard. I feel responsible for him, protective, and I love him. He’s my platonic life partner.” It’s all said with a dopey smile, and that’s actually really sweet. Doreen’s not a complete idiot though. Everyone knows that true bonding comes from the most fucked up of shit, so she’s pretty sure that Jo and Tony went through something pretty horrible together. 

“You’re not in my head right now, are you?” They’re walking down a hallway, Doreen has no idea where they’re going, and she doesn’t want Jo to know what she just thought. Because it’s really none of her business. None of Doreen’s business, that is. 

“No, I’m in Tony’s head. And Bruce’s. It’s a back and forth. Wanted to let them know I was gonna make them a sandwich.” Oh, and there’s the kitchen. Geeze, this place is like a maze. “I meant what I said. I am still learning control, but I’m going to do my best not to pick up any of your surface thoughts.”

“No, it’s cool, whatever. I was just curious,” she shrugged. Jo’s pulling stuff out, all the necessary things to make a sandwich, and she feels kinda useless. There’s four plates laid out. “Who are the other two for?”

“Reed and Sue. Bruce asked them for me. Do you want a sandwich?” The woman is waving a butter knife around, which should not be threatening. Not that Doreen feels threatened.

“No thanks.” She leaned against the counter and watched as Jo went about making sandwiches, and the other woman hummed lightly under her breath as she went about assembling. 

“You wanted to talk about something, right?” Jo didn’t look over at her, but Doreen still skipped a breath. This is going to be no big deal. She can totally do this. 

“Well, Tony’s pretty sure that I’ll get voted in. Him, Clint, and Thor already voted yes. They said Bruce probably would too?”

“You saved me and Tony, so Bruce will definitely vote for your induction into the Avengers. Steve will too, because he’s cool like that. Natasha is a wild card, but I have a feeling that you’ll be able to impress her.” It was said with another lopsided smile that showed off a dimple, and Doreen slumped against the counter a little in relief. “Real quick though, why do you want to join the Avengers? There’s other superhero teams out there, and there’s mutants and enhanced humans that help out on their own.”

“I’ve done a lot of stuff on my own, when I could. I just don’t want to always fight alone, you know? I want to have a team that will have my back, and I’ve looked into some of the other teams. The Avengers…I don’t know, you guys just seem more like a family than anything. You’re really there for each other. You even live together!”

“Good answer, but I’m not an Avenger. Just a mutant that happens to be Tony Stark’s bodyguard.”

“And Dr. Banner’s girlfriend.” That made the other woman blush a little, and that’s just too cute. 

“Yeah, that too. Now, tell me what you wanna tell me.” Jo’s still making the monstrous sandwiches, so there’s no eye contact. It might be easier if there’s no eye contact. 

“Well, Avenger or not, you all still live together. If I do become an Avenger and get to move in, I don’t want there to be any secrets or anything. Full disclosure, you know?” Jo hummed, which Doreen took as a cue to keep going. “I kinda dated Logan, but not really. There was some heavy flirting and maybe a little more, but the whole thing only lasted like two weeks. We decided it just wasn’t going to work and went our separate ways.”

“Huh.” Doreen doesn’t know if that’s a good response or not. 

“It’s just, I know you two are really close. I mean, he’s got your graduation picture in his wallet. And a picture of you, him, and Rogue together in Tokyo. It’s pretty freakin’ adorable, since he comes off all growly most of the time, but I didn’t want you to think I was hiding—”

“Doreen, breathe.” Strong hands are on her shoulders, and she took in a slow deep breath. 

“Sorry.” Jo smiled and lightly squeezed her shoulders before stepping back. 

“Logan is an adult who is free to do whatever he wants. I’ve been bugging him for years to find someone and settle down, but he doesn’t have the best history with relationships. I’m glad that you were able to make him happy, if only for a little while.”

“How do you know I made him happy?”

“Because if you didn’t, I would’ve known. Anna Marie would have known. It wouldn’t have ended well.” Jo’s teasing her, she can tell by the tone of her voice, but she still shivered just a little. 

“Nope, totally parted on friendly terms. We just didn’t…fit, you know?” Doreen really liked Logan too. He could be a real sweetheart under all the growling. 

“Yeah, I know. Wanna help me carry these?”

**.xXx.**

“Tony, I swear to Thor that if you don’t look away from that thing in the next ten seconds, I will replace all of your shower products with the girliest smelling stuff I can find. I’m talking cotton candy here, Tony, you got me?” He blinked as he looked away from the cell blueprints he was working on and met Jo’s dark green eyes. He could see Bruce over his shoulder, dutifully eating a sandwich with a chastised look on his face.

“What did you threaten Bruce with?” he asked as she shoved a plate onto the table in front of him. 

“You don’t wanna know,” was the cryptic answer. Bruce shook his head to back up the claim, and he smiled despite himself. 

“Sounds kinky.”

“Bottles with unicorns on them,” Jo threatened. 

“Okay, okay, I’m eatin’!” He took a giant bite of the sandwich to prove his point, and Jo smiled as she reached up to ruffle his hair. It’s grease-free for once, so her fingers actually moved through his hair without getting stuck. He can see Doreen farther out into the lab, talking to Reed and Sue, and the two of them have sandwiches too. 

“You’re getting better at projecting,” Bruce said once half his sandwich was gone. Jo was spinning on a stool between the two of them, to keep an eye on their progress. 

“Still a little quiet, but the distance is definitely getting better,” Tony agreed. Hearing Jo earlier had been a shock, because he normally only hears her voice in his head when they’re in the same room. She’s getting stronger, and that’s good. 

“I think it’s just easier with you two.” He and Bruce shared a confused look, and Jo huffed at the both of them. “I’m in your heads the most, you know? I know your minds better than anyone else’s, so it’s easier to find you two.”

“Makes sense,” he said before taking another big bite. If he doesn’t finish the sandwich, she might actually shove the remainder down his throat. Jo has listened to his thoughts almost since the very beginning; she suffered through his nightmares and hallucinations during the worst of it, and she listens to the things that he can’t say out loud sometimes. As for Bruce, she first started practicing projecting her thoughts with him. He’s sure that other things have happened too, like her projecting her nightmares to Bruce and vice versa. 

“I’ve still got a long way to go. I’ll probably never be as good as the Professor, but I know I can do better.” She looked back and forth between them, and Tony hooked his ankle around hers. Bruce is holding one of her hands, because his other hand is still holding the sandwich. 

“You’ll make it,” Bruce said quietly. 

“Because you’ve got us to help you,” Tony added. Jo grinned over at him, and they eased into silence as they finished eating.

**.xXx.**

The asset watched the target, noting her movements and her routine. She wakes up at six and goes for a run in the city. Two point six miles. A quick shower. Simple breakfast, toast and orange juice. Khaki pants and a red shirt, with a name tagged onto it. Not the target’s name. A different name. At work by eight. A cubicle, small confined space. Calls. A repeat of the same commands over and over. The target’s eyes (brown) glaze over. Lunch behind the building. Mixture of fruit. Eats alone. Isolated. Back to the cubicle. Leaves promptly at five. Returns to small apartment. Immediately changes. Loose fitting clothes. Moves in fluid movements around kitchen. Small dinner.

The target does everything alone. In complete isolation. Alone. Isolated.

**.xXx.**

“Alright, boys, bed time!” Her rough voice echoed in the lab, bounced back to her, and two pair of eyes turned towards her. She can already see the excuses cropping up in their genius brains, so she raised her hand in the air. “Nope. It’s two in the morning, and you’ve both been working since sunrise. Bath and bed. Now.”

“Party pooper,” Tony grumbled as he walked past her. 

“See you after you tend to Tony?” Bruce asked as he stopped next to her. 

“You know me so well. I showered earlier, because of all the sparring today, so you can go ahead without me. I’ll meet you in bed.”

“Sounds good to me.” Bruce pressed a quick kiss against her lips before walking off, and Jo turned her head to watch him go. 

“You’re good with them. I wish I could get Reed out of the lab that easy.” The light tone was a little surprising, and Jo turned back around to look at Sue. No, the woman still has that cold look in her eyes, but it’s not as icy as usual. 

“I mostly just threaten to literally carry them out of the lab. There’s something about being carried by a woman that a man’s ego just can’t handle,” Jo said with a small smile. 

“Still, I’m impressed. And thank you, earlier, for the sandwiches. Sometimes we forget to do little things like eat.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed that’s a common trait amongst all you geniuses. Good luck getting Reed out of here.”

“Oh, I have my own threats to get Reed moving.” It was said with a quick wink, and Jo’s laugh was startled out of her. She likes it when Sue is sassy, in a fun way. She was still laughing quietly to herself as she reached the bedrooms, and she stepped into Tony’s first. She pulled off the gray sweatpants she was wearing (Bruce’s) and the black Metallica tee (Tony’s), so that she was just reduced down to a matching panty and sports bra set in hot pink. 

“Ooh, do I get a back scrub tonight?” Tony’s already sitting in the bubble-filled tub, and Jo eased her legs over the side. 

“You played nice today, so you get a reward.” 

Tony’s hair was easier to wash than usual, because it’s not caked in grease, but she still spent most of her time just running her fingers through his hair. He did play nice today. He didn’t argue with Reed about a single thing, he was perfectly civil, and he managed not to offend anyone. Jo’s impressed. She can also feel how much he misses everyone else, because she misses them too. He showed her some footage from the mansion, and they both smiled at the only sleeping forms. Pepper was curled up in Tony’s bed, in one of his button-ups, and cuddling one of his giant silky pillows. Darcy was sprawled out across her bed, blankets twisted around her knees, and Jade was sleeping on the pillow next to her. 

“Darcy’s been doing a real good job,” Jo said quietly. They’re both so peaceful right now that she doesn’t really want to ruin the mood. 

“Yeah, Pep’s so happy to finally have someone that can keep up with her. Darcy’s being challenged, and she’s thriving.” Tony’s voice is quiet too, and Jo is just rubbing idle circles across the tops of his shoulders. 

“They grow up so fast.” Tony reached up to grab her hand, and she moved the other one around so press against the arc reactor. 

“I think our little girl is becoming a fine young woman. Which reminds me, do I need to have a talk with Clint? Because I am prepared to have a talk with bird boy.” He sounds like such an over protective father, and Jo snorted a little. 

“I don’t think so, not yet. There might be something there, but neither one of them has accepted it yet. You don’t think they’re a good fit?” Not that it’s really their business, but they’re both protective over Darcy. 

“I don’t want either of them hurt.”

“Yeah, me neither. We’ll just have to wait and see how it goes.”

“Fine. Now, let me up. Bruce is probably starting to feel abandoned,” Tony said and started to get up. Jo pulled her legs out of the tub, grabbed a towel for herself, and tossed another one to Tony. She dried off her legs and arms, and any other areas that got splashed, before pulling her pajamas back on. “You really don’t wear your own clothes anymore.”

“Yours are comfier.”

“Between you and Pepper, I’m gonna be running around naked.” She whistled, since he’s only wearing a towel right now, and he rolled his eyes at her. 

“Hey, if you need anything, just call me,” she said and tapped her temple. 

“You’re a good friend, sweetheart,” Tony said as he wrapped an arm around her head and pulled her to him. She wound up slumped against his side with her head mostly in his armpit. Eh, at least he’s clean. 

“Only for you, boss. Now get some sleep.” She pushed away from him as she said it, and she caught the little smile on his face as she walked back towards the door. She paused in the doorway, closed her eyes, and thought as loudly as she could, _“I love you!”_

_“Love you too,”_ Tony said with a mental laugh. That’s good enough for her. She slipped into her own bedroom right next door, and Bruce was propped up against the headboard reading. He smiled when he saw her, and she grinned back as she crawled over him to prop up against the headboard next to him. 

“Can I ask you something?”

“Anything.” They’re turned so that they’re facing each other, and she doesn’t want to have any secrets from Bruce. 

“The back scrubbing, is that…is it because of the hallucination? The one where you called me?” Ah, the Arctic Balls Incident. She tries not to think about that; she hates remembering the way Tony looked as he shook in the freezing cold water. How icy his skin had been as she clutched at him while their minds were set on fire. 

“I don’t know, maybe. I guess it could be our way of moving past that. Hell, maybe it’s our way of honoring it. Because that night? That’s the night it really hit home for me, that I’d do anything for Tony Stark. That I’d do whatever was necessary to make sure that never happened again.”

“I remember that night. I’d had no idea that Tony was so broken.”

“Completely fucking shattered, but we built him back piece by piece.”

“We?” Bruce looks confused, because he doesn’t realize just how much he helped. 

“Pepper was gone, Tony sent Happy away to watch after Pepper, Rhodey was busy doing damage control…You and I were all that Tony had, the only two people he spoke to for months. Clint and Natasha dropped by a few times, but it was just me and you while we were in Malibu. He needed you just as much as he needed me.” While Jo took care of Tony’s body and helped with the withdrawal, Bruce helped his mind. Kept him focused on the positive things, his science, and was just there to listen to him. 

“I didn’t know that.” He still looks confused, and Jo scooted over until she could rest her head on his shoulder. 

“We were both lucky to have you,” she whispered. Bruce’s arms came around her, and she felt him press a kiss against the top of her head. They were all a little broken, but they’re getting better. Stronger.

**.xXx.**

“Oh, shi—Sorry, I didn’t know anyone else was up here. I’ll just—”

“Nonsense! You are more than welcome to join me, Doreen.” She tightened her fingers in the fabric of the thick blanket wrapped around her and shuffled over to where Thor was sitting. He has his blanket laid out on top of the roof, and he’s just wearing sweatpants and a tee shirt. How is he not freezing?

“You sure I’m not bothering you?” she asked as she collapsed next to him. She’s wrapped up like a burrito, so sitting down like a normal person wasn’t exactly possible. She keeps forgetting how big Thor is. Sitting next to him now, it’s kinda hard to forget. He’s taller than her and broader, but his smile is like sunshine. You can’t be scared of a guy with a smile like that. 

“I am quite sure.” He doesn’t even look a little bit cold, and he’s got his hair pulled back into this cool man-bun thing. “Did you want to seek the comfort of the stars?”

“Huh?” She’d been checking out his jawline, so she missed some of the words. 

“Did you come to look at the stars?” He glanced her way before turning his gaze back to the sky, and Doreen tipped her head back to look overhead. Wow, the stars really are pretty. The sky looks endless. 

“I don’t like being cooped up,” she shrugged. She likes modern comforts, like showers and sheets with high thread counts, but she likes being surrounded by nature too. It’s like a part of her. “Did you come out here to look up at the stars?”

“I was thinking of home,” was his quiet answer. Doreen managed to wiggle just enough to get an arm free, and she reached up to lightly pat the god’s shoulder. Yup, that’s solid muscle under there. 

“Do you miss it? Home?” she asked as she pulled her arm back into the blanket. Ugh, it feels like her fingers got frostbite in just those few seconds. 

“Sometimes.” The answer sounded…heavy. That doesn’t really make sense, but that’s how Doreen is describing that tone. 

“Sounds complicated.” She knows about his brother, Loki. The guy and his alien army tried to take over the world, and they probably would have succeeded if it hadn’t been for the Avengers. 

“It was simple, once. When I was younger.” Despite looking all jovial most of the time, it sounds like the god is carrying around some heavy baggage. 

“I think everything is simpler when we’re younger. That’s what makes growing up so hard. We lose our innocence when we let go of ignorance.” Some crazy ol’ telepath told her that a few years ago, not Jo or the Professor. Some other woman, but the words have stuck with her. 

“You are very wise, Lady Doreen.” She could feel heat rising into her cheeks despite the chill in the air, and she shrugged. 

“I do what I can,” she said with a little smile. “Can you tell me about your home? Do you live in a big castle?”

“Yes, there is a palace.” Thor’s voice was warm and light as he talked about his home, and Doreen closed her eyes as she snuggled down into her blanket. Looks like she’s getting a bedtime story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There’s so much I want to address, but first things first. I could really use the help of my readers. I have a way to work _Age of Ultron_ into this story, but the story can also continue without it. I already loved Vision and Wanda in _Ultron_ , but _Civil War_ really sealed the deal for me. I love their characters and how they interact with everyone else. So my question is: **Do you, my lovely readers, want me to include the _Age of Ultron_ storyline?** It’ll be changed some, obviously, but it’ll bring in new characters. You can answer in a comment or send me a message. I’m currently writing ahead (shocking, I know) so I’d love to know everyone’s opinions!
> 
> Now, onto the real Ending Note! Feel free to skip this if you were completely satisfied with the chapter. First off, I really love the Jo/Bruce scenes. Things are gonna get crazy soon, there’s a lot of new characters coming in, but I will always love writing the one-on-one scenes. As for Deadpool, this is not the last of him! He’s going to be a recurring character. If there’s anything that anyone wants to see from him, just let me know! I’m open to suggestions, because I don’t have a set plan for his character. He’s just going to pop up at random times. 
> 
> I’m doing so many Doreen perspectives so that we can get to know her character better, because she’s not going anywhere. (Also, not sure if I mentioned it, but I picture her as Anna Kendrick.) It’s also because I just really love Squirrel Girl, and I think she deserves more recognition. 
> 
> We all know who the asset is, but let me live under the illusion that I’m being mysterious. As for the target, we know who that is too. So, yes, Skye/Daisy will be in the story. However, it’s not going to be the same Skye from AoS. I’m gonna try to stay true to her character, but I’ll ruin it now and tell you that I’m not doing the Inhuman storyline. This story is complicated enough as it is, but I really love Skye’s character so I wanted to bring her in. If there’s any questions later on, I’ll be happy to answer them!
> 
> One last thing: Jade is my favorite random character of all time. Pet chickens for the win! 
> 
> PS: Is anyone actually reading this? If you are, I'll write a story for you. You can be the OC with any Avenger you want, or I'll write a little story for your favorite pairing. I'm just curious and want to see if anyone's actually reading.


	31. Just A Small Part Of A Bigger Plot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _you better run, better run, outrun my gun_
> 
> _xxx_
> 
> _you better run, better run, faster than my bullet_
> 
> **Pumped Up Kicks by Foster The People**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warning:** Some graphic violence and descriptions of wounds.

**September 5, 2014**

Friday, finally. Skye Bennet looks forward to Fridays for the same reason that all people who hate their jobs look forward to the last day of the work week. For two days, she’ll get to sleep in. She won’t have to answer calls and ask people to turn their computer off, then back on again. All of that time spent at university, wasted. She works at a call center, she has a regular routine…she’s not like she thought she’d be when she grew up. Wasn’t her life supposed to be exciting? Meaningful? Not this. She watched as her clock ticked over to six, and she slapped the snooze button before the blaring alarm could reach past her thin walls and wake up the neighbors.

One more week down. An eternity of boredom left to go.

**.xXx.**

“Please tell me I’m not the only one that’s dying of boredom,” Doreen groaned and slumped over the table. Thor lightly patted the girl on the back and then returned to his lunch, and Jo could see a calculating look in Clint’s eyes. That look always means trouble.

“Well, with the scientists all holed up, it has been pretty boring. I can only spar so many times,” she sighed. Bruce and Tony spend pretty much all of their waking time in the lab with Reed and Sue, which is totally fine with Jo. They’re helping Reed and Sue, and it’s a pretty important cause. Still, she’s sparred with all the others. Took on Johnny and Ben at the same time yesterday in a tag-team match with Doreen. It was pretty fun, but she does feel a little stir crazy. 

“Maybe we should take a field trip?” Clint asked. Doreen and Johnny both perked up, but Ben started shaking his head. 

“Nope. I’m staying out of this one,” the big guy said before walking off. Jo pouted, because Ben is the only person that can really keep Johnny in check, but she understands his refusal. Clint’s ideas are usually a combination of the best and worst ideas ever; it’s just hard to tell the different until it’s all over. 

“What’d you have in mind?” Doreen asked with a similar look in her eye. Oh Thor, there’s another one. Thor met her eyes after the little thought, and she shrugged at the god’s curious gaze. 

“If you get arrested, I’m leaving you there overnight this time. No matter how much you beg,” Jo told him. 

“I don’t beg,” Clint said and stubbornly crossed his arms. 

“You do when you’re drunk, look like a drowned rat, and have just been placed in a cold cell.” Clint rolled his eyes but didn’t argue with her, so she’s taking that as a win. 

“Do you want to hear my amazing plan or not?” 

“Yeah, let’s hear what brilliance you’ve come up with this time.”

**.xXx.**

“You know I only get an hour on my lunchbreak, right?” Darcy said as she quickly shoveled in a bite of a granola bar. Okay, so she might, possibly, still be doing some paperwork. It’s light paperwork though! She’s also still eating, because she’s not gonna turn into Tony and depend on someone to literally bring her food to her to remind her to eat. She’s not that far gone yet.

“I promise to take tantalizing pictures of Clinton,” Jo sang over the line. That’s just…well, rude and presumptive. Which is what she told the other mutant and sent her into peals of laughter. She should’ve known better. “I’ll throw in some fun pictures of Thor while I’m at it.”

“You’ll make sure the big guy has fun?” Darcy’s not really sure where she’d be without Thor. He’s the one that dropped her name to Tony, and that one decision has really changed her life. She has a family, as weird as they might be, and she’s changed. That’s obvious, what with the recently discovered mutant genes and everything, but she has changed without really changing at all. If anything, she feels more like herself than she ever has before. 

“You know I will, kid. We’ll all be careful, safe, and somewhat responsible.” That got a laugh out of Darcy, which is what Jo was probably aiming for. 

“Okay, fine. Did you pack anything that’s not leggings and Tony’s shirts?” Her tone sounded skeptical, because that’s pretty much all that Jo wears these days. Well, sometimes there’s a pair of shorts or one of Bruce’s shirts. 

“Oh, ye of little faith,” Jo said and Darcy heard the sounds of clothes rustling. 

“I can’t tell if this is the best or worst plan ever,” Darcy said as she waited for Jo to find what she was looking for. 

“Probably a mix of both. That’s how Clint’s plans always go.”

“This is Clint’s plan?!” Jo’s laughter sounded like it could shake the phone, and Darcy leaned back in her chair and away from distracting paperwork. Time to get the whole story.

**.xXx.**

Skye isn’t a big fan of lunch. The other employees don’t really like her all that much, so she normally eats alone. She’d tried being friendly when she first started working, but the employee roster was mostly made up of struggling college students that resented her degree and people twenty years her senior that resented her youth. Both were annoying, but she’d still tried. Nothing worked though, so she resigned herself to lonely lunches behind the big building. There’s a nice picnic table out in the sunlight, and she likes to feel the warmth on her skin.

“Hello.” She nearly choked on the grape she was chewing as her eyes popped open, and she spun around to look at the other side of the table. Bright green eyes met hers, and the woman is absolutely stunning. She doesn’t work in the call center; Skye would remember. Maybe she works somewhere else in the company?

“Oh, um, hi,” Skye said once she realized she was staring. The woman smiled, her full lips parting just enough to show perfectly straight and white teeth. She’s pretty sure she’s never seen someone with such perfect bone structure. 

“Skye, is it?” The woman’s bright green eyes had flicked down to Skye’s nametag, but this woman isn’t wearing a nametag. All she can see is a dark green blouse and a black jacket, and her brown hair is in a professional looking bun. 

“That’s me,” she said with a little smile. 

“Such an odd name. Your given name is much prettier, don’t you think?” Skye felt something like ice run through her veins; she suddenly felt cold and a little shaky, but the woman just kept on smiling at her. 

“Given name?” Skye asked. 

“Yes, the name your birth mother gave you. It’s prettier than the name that your adoptive family gave you, so I don’t know why you kept the changed name. It’s not like that family kept you, did they?” No, there’s no way…this woman can’t know anything about Skye’s past. Skye deleted all of her old records, all of them, so she could start over. She didn’t want to just be some orphan, who was nearly immediately adopted by a family and given back to the orphanage just a few weeks later. 

“How do you—”

“Shh, Skye, now is not the time for your questions.” The woman raised an arm up and her jacket slid back enough to reveal a small watch on her thin wrist. 

“Who are you?” The question slipped out of her, and she saw the woman smile again as she tapped a finger against the glass plate over the watch. 

“My name is Viper.” 

“I’m guessing that’s not your given name,” Skye couldn’t help herself from saying. The smile was gone when the woman looked back up, and there was something dark in her bright eyes. 

“You should probably start running now, Skye. You might have a chance if you go now.” Skye felt her brows pulling together in confusion, right before a small explosion hit the center of the picnic table. No, not an explosion. Smaller. A bullet. “Then again, maybe it’s too late for you.”

The person is shooting at her, and she doesn’t have time to find out why. She heard the woman laughing as she scrambled to her feet and started running, and she stumbled as a bullet tore through her hand. A neat hole went through her left hand, but she didn’t let it slow her down. The pain was like nothing she’d ever felt before, but she can’t stop running. She won’t make it easy for whoever is after her to kill her. She ducked into an alley just as another bullet hit the sidewalk next to her, and she heard a few people screaming as they realized what had happened. So much for another boring day at work.

**.xXx.**

“Ugh, I am exhausted,” Darcy groaned and let her head thunk against the countertop. She’s sitting at the bar, her heels have been kicked off, and she’s ready for the world’s longest nap. Who knew being a CEO’s top assistant would be so draining? She thought she’d be fetching Pepper’s coffee and answering calls, but Pepper has given her so much responsibility. Possibly too much. When did she become an adult?

“I’ve got some bath salts to help with your feet, if you want to use them after dinner?” Darcy forced her head up, so that her chin was on the bar, and met the woman’s pretty blue eyes. 

Everyone has been gone for nearly a week, like one day shy of a week, so she’s spent a lot of time with the older woman. Pepper is nothing like Jo, who has become some weird mixture of Darcy’s older sister and mother figure, but there are a few similarities. Blink and you’ll miss them. Pepper is a bit quieter and has a more dry sense of humor, which is the opposite of Jo’s loud presence and ability to laugh at even the dumbest of jokes. (Which are normally told by Clint, or Darcy herself.) They’re both really protective though, in their own ways. Darcy knows for a fact that Jo would stand between her and an army, and she’d do it all with a smile on her face. Pepper takes care of her in little ways, and she’s just now picking up that this is how Pepper shows that she cares. Leaves little snacks at Darcy’s desk, places a comforting hand on her shoulder before meetings, and now something to help with her achy feet. 

She’s still a little wary of Pepper though. She makes Tony happy, which Darcy is all for, but she also knows that Pepper is the one that put him in a really dark place. Jo and Tony don’t talk about it, but Darcy isn’t an idiot. The closeness between Tony and Jo? That had to come from something pretty bad for them to bond so quickly, telepathy be damned. Pepper’s just so nice though! She can’t hate the other woman. Not when she makes Tony’s eyes light up and goes out of her way to make sure that Darcy is okay. Besides, Jo would know if Pepper was out to hurt Tony. 

“That would be ah-mazing. You’re the best, Pep!” She’d barely gotten the sentence out when her phone beeped, and she quickly pulled it out. The longer she watched the video that had just been sent, the more her eyes watered and the more her ribs hurt. 

“Darcy? Is something wrong? What happened?” She was laughing so hard that no sound was escaping her, and she wrapped her arms around her middle as she doubled over. She managed to swing her phone around, and Pepper gently pried it from her shaking fingers. She must have adjusted the volume and pressed play, because Darcy heard Jo’s voice ring out a minute later. 

_“Yo! I present to you, from the finest club that London has to offer, the magnificent battle between The Avengers and The Fantastic Four! Get ‘em, Clinton!”_

In the video, Thor had Clint perched on his shoulders and the guy that had to be Johnny Storm was sitting on Ben Grimm’s shoulders. Jo said they had a hard time talking him into coming, but they must have won him over. From the looks of it, they were dancing. Thor and Ben had locked hands, and they were moving to a very loud beat in what looked like a waltz. Clint and Johnny had locked hands as well, but it looked like they were trying to push each other off. Like a strange game of chicken. Darcy lifted her head as Pepper came around the counter, and they both watched the video together. 

_“Aww, they suck at this! Should we show ‘em how it’s really done?”_ Darcy didn’t recognize the voice, but it has to be that other mutant that Tony told them about. The one that took down Doom with squirrels. 

_“Damn straight! Darcy, baby, always remember this: do as I say, not as I do. Because I’m about to do something that mere mortals can’t handle!”_ The phone was handed off to a bystander, there were quite a few of them standing around to watch the spectacle, and Jo came into view. The dress she was wearing wrapped around her curves and was a dark purple, but the other woman was just in a pair of black skinny jeans and a green vest. Without any help, the other woman launched herself into the air and landed perfectly on Jo’s shoulders. 

“That must be Doreen. She’s going to be fun to have around,” Pepper said as Jo jumped between Thor and Ben. When Darcy glanced over, Pepper was smiling. Really smiling. 

_“Whoever is watching this, your friends are amazing!”_ she heard the random bystander say. Jo, Thor, and Ben had joined hands to form a circle while the three people on their shoulders fought to knock their partners off. The camera zeroed in on Jo, and she blew a kiss before the screen went dark. Pepper handed her phone back to her, and Darcy let it lay against the counter. 

“I’m surprised they haven’t been kicked out yet,” Darcy said and slid back down to rest her cheek on the counter again. Whatever Pepper is cooking smells delicious, but she’s too tired to sit up straight. She’s saving that energy for when it’s time to eat. 

“I’m just glad they’re having fun. I wish the boys would relax like that. Knowing those two, they’re in Reed’s lab and refusing to come out.” Pepper definitely has a point there. She doesn’t know Reed and Sue, so she can’t really speak for them, but she knows Tony and Bruce. Getting out and having some fun would be good for them. Maybe, when everyone comes back, they can have a day out. Like at a beach!

Darcy and Pepper were still conspiring on the beach idea when JARVIS interrupted them, and they both raised a brow at the sound of the AI’s voice. Yeah, JARVIS might be a computer program or whatever, but he’s more human than some actual humans that she’s met. Darcy sat up fully on her stool, and Pepper moved the food off of the stove. Because that tone? That tone means something really bad has happened. 

“What is it, JARVIS?”

“There appears to be a young woman just outside of the main gate, Miss Potts. I cannot read her vitals from this range, but I believe she is severely wounded.” Darcy nearly slipped as she hurried to get off the stool, because what?!

“Call an ambulance, JARVIS.” Pepper’s voice was calm, but Darcy noted the way that her hands shook just the tiniest bit. 

“I am afraid that might not be in Master Stark’s best interests.” Instead of waiting for one of them to ask for clarification, a hologram projection appeared in the kitchen. There was a body slumped against the front gate, but Darcy couldn’t see any of the girl’s features. She was just a lump that nearly blended in with the dark gate, since the sun had already set. 

“I don’t under—” JARVIS zoomed in, and Darcy felt bile biting against the back of her throat. Taped to the woman’s torso was a note large enough for them to read. 

**_To: Tony  
Love, Viper_ **

Darcy saw a flash of bright green (the woman’s eyes) and a flash of white behind pink lips right before everything went dark. Right before she got shot in the head, by Viper. Now some other girl is suffering because of that bitch, and Darcy was moving before she’d fully decided to go help her. She heard Pepper calling out to her, warning her that it could possibly be a trap, but she wasn’t slowing down. The front door opened easily, and she ran down the stairs and the walkway in her bare feet. The gate opened for her, and the woman fell flat against her back. Dark hair was matted with blood, probably from the wound on her left temple. Her skin was pale, but Darcy was willing to bet that was the blood loss. A large white piece of paper was stuck to her midsection, and Darcy leaned down to get a better look. 

“Stop!” There was a hand gripping the front of her blouse, and bloodshot eyes met hers. Nails, small and thin ones, were holding the note in place. There was also blood showing through her khaki pants, a hole was in the left shoulder of her shirt, and her left hand was lying limply next to her body. Because there’s a hole in the center of it. 

“Oh my Thor, what did that bitch do to you?”

**.xXx.**

The epic game of chicken fight dancing was over, so Jo was dancing Clint. Ben was at the bar, surrounded by admirers much to the big man’s surprise, Johnny was leading a group of people around the room in a train, and Thor and Doreen were dancing next to her and Clint. Her and Clint were pulling out their more professional moves, because they don’t get too many chances to really let go. As for Thor and Doreen, she had her feet braced on top of his boots so that she could barely reach his shoulders. It was super adorable. She managed to get her phone out and sneak a shot, and she slipped it back into her tight pocket.

“Getting pictures to sell on E-Bay?” Actually, that’s something she hasn’t thought about. 

“Nah, souvenirs for Darcy.” Clint’s smile turned into something less playful and more bashful, and that’s one word she thought she’d never use to describe the assassin. She was just getting ready to start teasing him for what’s starting to become an obvious crush, when she noticed Thor was frozen next to them. 

“Thor, you okay? Oh, God! Am I hurting your toes!” Doreen tried to jump back, but Thor’s arms were locked around her back and holding her in place. After a moment, the god’s eyes cleared and he looked over at her and Clint. 

“It’s Darcy. She just prayed to me, and she sounded afraid.” Jo felt Clint tense up against her, and Jo felt her own temper rising. Darcy better be okay, or there’ll be hell to pay. 

“Is she okay?” Doreen asked, since it looks like her and Clint are a little speechless at the moment. 

“The fear is not for herself. It is for someone else.” Someone else? The only person with Darcy is Pepper, unless something happened to Natasha and Steve. 

“Maybe we should call and check in.” Jo was struggling to get her phone back out of her pocket when the back wall of the bar exploded, and the club was filled with the sound of screams and panic. 

“HUMAN TORCH!” There was a man standing on top of the bar, but it was impossible to see his face because of the mask he was wearing. Jo waited for Ben to knock the idiot down, but the big guy was frozen still. Johnny was standing closer to them now, and she felt the length of his body press up against her from behind. 

“I know you’ve been working on your telepathy,” he quickly whispered. “That guy, legally changed his name to Wizard. He’s a genius, and he’s got all kinds of gadgets. We can handle the flying and laser lights, but that helmet? He uses it to control minds. Can you keep him out?”

“I don’t know,” Jo whispered back just as quickly. She could see Ben throwing chairs and tables at the running club goers that were fleeing in panic, and the maniac standing on the bar was laughing like he’d just won free tickets to Disneyworld. 

“Try!” Johnny whispered and stepped out from around her. The bar was emptied in minutes, except for them. Clint and Doreen were on either side of her, and she could feel Thor standing just behind them. Ben was standing in front of the man that was still standing on the bar, the guy that named himself Wizard, and Johnny was slowly walking forward. 

“Where’s the rest of the gang?!” Johnny spread his arms as he called out, and Jo fought the urge to roll her eyes. Now is not the time to be antagonizing. 

“Oh, they’re around.” Jo really doesn’t like that smile. Sand on the floor started to swirl until a hulking figure of a man stood next to Ben, so that’s gotta be Sandman. She’s heard of him. 

“What the—Hey!” Doreen screamed as something wrapped around her wrists and ankles, and the woman was pinned to the wall when Jo looked back. The man next to her was looking over her restraints, as if to make sure that they were perfect, but Jo couldn’t see his face either. It was covered by a purple mask that wrapped completely around him and left only his eyes showing. 

“I’ve got him,” Clint whispered. Knowing him, there is a bow and several arrows hidden on his person. 

“Thor, I’m gonna need you to go after Sandman. I’m gonna try to free Ben from Wizard.” She felt a large hand squeeze her shoulder, and Thor moved around her to charge at the other man. 

“And what about me?” The woman now standing in the room was absolutely gorgeous. Tan skin, long blonde hair, and she looked strong enough to take down an entire city. 

“You must be Medusa’s replacement. Wanna dance?” Johnny and his cockiness. Soon, the sounds of fighting were all over the place. Clint was facing off against Trapster, Johnny was fighting a woman that said her name was Thundra, Thor was punching Sandman, and…Ben was headed right for her. 

As soon as Ben was close enough, Jo jumped up onto his shoulders. Her legs locked around his neck, and she held in her screams as his rocky fists beat against her thighs. She pushed her hands against the top of his head and did her best to get inside of his head. She normally has to picture something before she can enter someone’s mind. Before, it was a bridge. Now she just has to picture Tony or Bruce. (And occasionally Darcy.) She knows their minds. She doesn’t know Ben’s. What if she messes up?

The wall behind her back cracked as she was slammed into it, and she wrapped her arms completely around Ben’s head. She could feel his mind, and it’s full of rage at the moment. No, this isn’t the Ben that she knows. He’s the calm one. The sensible one. This rage doesn’t belong to him, and she’s going to get it out. But how?

_“Tell me what it sounds like, what it looks like, what it feels like.”_ That’s what Bruce said to her all those months ago, when she found Tony hallucinating in a bathtub and freezing nearly to death. She’d been so panicked and lost, but Bruce’s calm voice had kept her centered. 

Ben’s mind sounds like a rock slide; a continuous echo of rocks hitting against stones. She can see the vibrations bouncing across his mind; it’s like throwing a rock into a river and watching the ripples, but these ripples are red and violent. It feels like the ripples have spread out everywhere and taken over everything. She can’t feel anything under the ripples, so Ben can’t either. He can’t find himself under the onslaught. She has to make the ripples go away. A box isn’t going to work for this, but she can think of something else. She has to. 

As Ben slammed her body against the floor and pounded at her with his fists, she pictured a whirlpool. A giant whirlpool in the center of his mind that drew in all of the angry ripples. All of the red was sucked in, slowly, until nothing remained. Ben’s mind was blue, not red, and she felt when he finally came back to himself. He went completely still, and his hands held her up instead of trying to push her away. She only groaned a little as he pulled her off his back and held her in his arms, and she smiled up at him. 

“Go kick his ass, Ben. I’ll make sure he can’t use anyone else as a shield.” She reached out to everyone else’s mind, which was a little easy since they were all in a confined space. Twice, something bounced off her own mind, and she turned to snarl at Wizard. He must have realized what she had done, what she was still doing, because he tried to run. It didn’t work. Ben caught his ankle, and Wizard’s helmeted head crashed against the bar. Within seconds, Ben had the helmet torn off and smashed beneath one giant foot. 

Everything else seemed to mostly be in hand. Clint had Trapster all tied up, with some of his own equipment and possibly some of Trapster’s too. Thundra was lying on the floor, parts of her were still smoking, but she was okay. She won’t be unconscious for long though. Thor was holding off Sandman, and Doreen jumped between some of the sand and plucked out a single grain. With that, the giant man collapsed to the floor. Everyone turned to look at Doreen, but the woman just shrugged. 

“A friend of mine beat this guy up once and told me what to go for. This little grain is his conscious mind. If you have it, you have him. I don’t suppose we have a jar or something, do we? And maybe some cuffs for the others?”

Jo reached up to touch the small stud in her tragus and heard the tiny click. She quickly told Tony what happened, who was not happy at being told after the fact, but he did promise to come extract them. Along with the prisoners. Wizard, Trapster, Sandman, and Thundra were all escaped prisoners. They even have a team name, the Frightful Four. And she thought the Fantastic Four was bad. Ugh, and the U-Foes. There’s just no good names anymore. After she completed her little talk with Tony, she stumbled over to the bar and dropped onto a stool. Clint moved to sit next to her, and Doreen was on her other side holding an empty liquor bottle. Well, mostly empty. There was a speck of sand in it. 

“Everyone okay?” There were various grunts of assent, and Jo noticed that the other three prisoners were handcuffed. Huh, looks like Clint’s. It’s good to know that he always comes prepared. 

“No offense, your tankness, but you look like shit,” Doreen said and smiled at her a little. Ben looked like he was going to apologize, but Jo waved him off. It wasn’t his fault. 

“Well, look on the bright side,” Clint said and slung an arm around her shoulders. 

“My side’s always bright!” Johnny yelled. Clint pulled her a little closer, and she dropped her head onto his shoulder. She’s so sleepy now. 

“What’s the bright side?” Doreen finally asked. Thor had joined them and was looking into the giant tequila bottle.

“We didn’t get arrested.” As if waiting for their cue, loud sirens started blaring. There’s a possibility that the sirens aren’t meant for them, but Jo seriously doubts it. “Maybe I spoke too soon.”

**.xXx.**

Bloodshot brown eyes were still staring up at her, and Darcy was starting to panic. Her chest and throat were burning as she forced her breath in and out at a fast pace, and she could hear Pepper talking on her phone behind her. It sounds like she’s trying to get ahold of Tony, but it doesn’t sound like he’s picking up. This girl really needs to go to a hospital, note for Tony from some psycho bitch be damned! Darcy held both of her hands out, to show that she didn’t have any kind of weapon, but the other woman wouldn’t let her go.

“My name is Darcy Lewis, and that’s Pepper. We’re going to take you to the hospital.” At that, the girl’s eyes widened and she yanked Darcy forward. Darcy yelped as her palms scraped against the pavement on either side of the girl’s body, and she could smell stale sweat and blood. 

“No hospitals. Not safe,” the girl said from between clenched teeth. She must be in so much pain, but she’s refusing the hospital? Darcy heard the click of heels, and she twisted her head to look up at Pepper. 

“Darcy, you’re stronger than me. You’ll have to carry her inside,” Pepper said quietly. Yeah, Darcy has that whole super strength thing going for her now, so this should be easy. The girl looks like she might be an inch over Darcy’s five feet and five inches, but Darcy’s got a few more curves. The girl was still clutching her blouse in one hand, so Darcy shifted on her knees so that she could reach under the girl’s knees. Her other arm went around the girl’s back as she stood, and she tried not to flinch at the sound of the girl’s screams. 

“Med facility?” Darcy asked as they quickly moved to the front door. 

“I think that would be best.” Once they were in the elevator, Pepper tried to call Tony again and still didn’t get an answer. “JARVIS, where is Tony?”

“There was an attack in London. Master Stark and Doctor Banner are on their way to assess the situation.” An attack? In London?

“But that’s where the others are!” The words jumped out of Darcy’s mouth, and she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Some unknown woman could be dying in her arms for all she knows, all of her friends (her family) could be under attack, and she feels so useless. 

“I’m sure they’re fine,” Pepper said with a quick smile. Darcy followed the redhead off the elevator and towards the med facility, and this is a place she never wanted to visit again. This is where she died, if only for a brief amount of time. This is where Tony nearly died. Where Clint and Natasha screamed in pain for hours. She went into the first room on the right, and she laid the girl down as carefully as possible. 

“Now what?” Darcy doesn’t know anything about helping someone with injuries like these. There’s no telling what kind of internal damage there is. 

“We don’t have any doctors on call. If we did, I wouldn’t know if we could trust them. Tony said that Bruce was their primary doctor, but he isn’t here.” Pepper spoke quickly, just under the level of panic, and Darcy swept her hair out of her eyes. They need someone that they can trust, fully. Someone that can keep a secret, because this is obviously something big. Someone left a dying girl outside of Tony’s house, with Tony’s name literally nailed to her! There’s got to be some—

“Oh! We can call Logan. He’s like Jo’s father, and he works at that mutant school. They probably have a doctor there, right? And they’re good at being discreet,” Darcy rambled out. 

“It’s worth a shot,” Pepper agreed. JARVIS was already connecting the call, and Darcy watched the way that the girl’s chest moved. She’s not breathing right. Too slow. Her eyes have been closed since they got on the elevator, and she looks really pale under these lights. 

“What do you want?” The voice was deep and brusque, and Darcy felt her mouth go dry. How do you ask a stranger for help with something like this?

“Hi, uh, my name’s Darcy. Darcy Lewis. I’m a friend of Jo’s, but she’s not here right now. We have a problem, and I didn’t know who else to trust. Jo trusts you though, so I thought you might be willing to help. Because if you don’t, I am all out of ideas. I am completely out of my element here, but Jo’s always talked about you like—”

“I know who you are. Get to the point, kid.” Well, this guy definitely isn’t getting any points for being patient. Then again, she is rambling. 

“Logan, this is Pepper Potts. Tony, Jo, and all the others are still out on missions. Roughly ten minutes ago, we were alerted that a woman was outside of our gate. We can’t tell the full extent of her injuries, and there was a note on her addressed to Tony from Viper. She needs a doctor, but a hospital is not a safe choice since we both know who sent her here. Can anyone there help us?”

“We’ll be there in twenty minutes.” The line cut off, and Darcy felt a small bit of tension leave her shoulders. 

“We should try to clean her up, see where she’s hurt the most,” Pepper said after a beat of silence. Makes sense. Darcy walked up to the girl’s side and lightly shook her shoulders. Hazy eyes slowly opened, and Darcy tried for a comforting smile. She probably failed. 

“We have someone on the way to look you over, someone that we trust. Before they get here, we need to take off your clothes and see where you’re hurt. Is that okay?” The girl seemed confused for a moment, but her eyes quickly cleared. Very quickly. She leaned her head up to look down the length of her body, and she groaned as her head thumped back against the bed. 

“Can you get the nails out first?” Darcy felt like she was going to hurl just at the thought of having to pull nails out of someone’s skin, and she felt a light hand on her back. 

“I’ll take care of it,” Pepper whispered. She moved around the room until she found something suitable for gripping the small nails, and Darcy moved up closer to the woman’s head. She held her hand out, and the girl’s right hand gripped hers. 

“Don’t worry about squeezing too hard,” Darcy said just as Pepper pulled the first nail free. The girl bit down on her lip and squeezed Darcy’s hand so hard that her fingers went numb, and it went on like that for eleven more nails. Twelve in all. When it was over, the girl’s lip was bleeding and Darcy’s hand had turned an unnatural purple color. 

“The guy was scary, but the woman was worse. She could’ve used glue instead of nails,” the girl mumbled as Pepper removed the piece of paper. It was splattered with blood, but the message was still clear. 

“Guy? What guy?” Darcy asked as Pepper started cutting the girl’s red shirt off. Maybe the conversation will keep her distracted. 

“The shooter. Never saw him. He was like a ghost, you know? Every time I got shot, I looked for him but couldn’t find him. Wanna know the weirdest thing? No kill shot. Got my hand, grazed my ribs, went right through my shoulder, got my leg once, but no kill shot. What kinda sniper doesn’t go for a kill shot?” The girl was slurring now, eyes rolling back in her head, and Darcy was feeling colder with every word that came out of the girl’s mouth. 

“What about the woman?” Pepper was working on getting the girl’s pants off now, and this time the girl’s eyes were clear when she looked up at Darcy. 

“Said her name was Viper. I thought she was beautiful at first, you know? I think it was her bone structure.” Yeah, Darcy remembers the woman’s beauty. She also remembers how it feels to have a bullet go through her skull. “I’ve been running since lunch, from him. Then it started getting dark, and I thought I was safe. Until she showed up. She said something, in Russian maybe, and hit me in the head. I think it was a pipe? When I woke up, I was in a van and she was putting those nails in me. Then she just threw me out on the street. Just like that.”

The girl was completely bare now, except for a bra and panty set with cartoon cats on them, so Darcy could see the damage. There was a graze on her right ribcage, about as thick as two of Darcy’s fingers and only about two inches long. There was another graze on her right calf, but it looked more like a cut than anything. The hole in her left shoulder looked small, but Darcy was willing to bet that the exit wound was a little bigger on her back. There was still a hole in her left hand, and Pepper was moving now to pack the wound with gauze. Twelve circular holes were in a square on the girl’s stomach, and there was a small cut on her left temple. 

“The jet has just landed, Miss Potts.” 

“Thank you, JARVIS. Please, direct them here.” Darcy looked back down to realize that the girl was still looking at her, and they were still holding hands. 

“I don’t understand. Why me?” It was something Darcy was wondering too, because she’s got a feeling that this is just a small part of a bigger plot. “I’m no one, so why me?”

“I don’t know, but if anyone can figure it out, it’s Tony Stark.” If they ever get ahold of him, that is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So many things to address in this chapter. Where to start? Okay, first off, it is my own personal headcanon that Clint really does come up with insane ideas when he’s bored. Those ideas either turn out absolutely amazing or land him in jail. There is no in-between. (Either way, whatever incident occurs from the idea winds up on the news.)
> 
> A few people have mentioned that they don’t trust Pepper, and I completely understand. Maybe I should have handled her leaving better? I needed her and Tony to break up so that Tony could bond with Jo, and I always planned on bringing Pepper back in. Darcy is still a little wary of Pepper, so I’m trying to use Darcy’s perspective to help people warm up to Pepper again. 
> 
> Skye is officially in the story! (Why do I torture my favorite characters?) She’ll be sticking around for a long while, and you can tell in this chapter that I’ve completely changed her backstory. I’ll explain more later, because I don’t want to spoil future chapters. Also, for anyone who’s forgotten, I picture Viper as Angelina Jolie. 
> 
> The normal driving distance from Xavier’s School to the Avengers Mansion is approximately one hour. Logan says they’ll be there in twenty because they’re taking the jet. 
> 
> Since I didn’t really go into detail about the Frightful Four, I’ve decided to put their descriptions here. There’s been many different members of the Frightful Four, so I went with these four. If you’d like to know more, feel free to Google them.
> 
> _Wizard (Wears Helmet): anti-gravity disks that allow him to fly, gauntlets that unleash potent electrical blasts, body armor, helmet that allows him to control minds_
> 
> _Sandman (Blonde, Giant): uses sand and earth to protect his body, can create a sledgehammer out of sand, nearly impossible to defeat-have to find the one grain of sand that contains his conscious mind_
> 
> _Trapster (Wears Purple Mask): uses glue like web-slingers, can walk up walls, anti-gravity disks, explosive caps, various other mechanical traps used to restrain or entangle opponents_
> 
> _Thundra (Blonde, Tall, Strong): superhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, and reflexes, has a sword, prefers to use three-foot linked chain attached to a bracelet on her left forearm_


	32. I Trust You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them."_
> 
> **Ernest Hemingway**

Darcy was sitting at the girl’s bedside when two people entered the room, and she felt her eyes widen at the sight of them. The first man was wearing a suit, complete with a tie, and was completely covered in blue fur. Yep, blue fur. Everywhere. You’d think Darcy would be used to the unusual by now, but she hadn’t been expecting to see a blue guy. The man that came in after him was a few inches taller, and he somehow managed to look just as animalistic as the guy covered in blue fur. His dark brown hair stuck up on his head and moved down his face into thick sideburns, and his dark brown eyes quickly scanned the room. He was dressed in a pair of old jeans, heavy boots, a plain white shirt, and a black leather jacket. 

“Dr. Hank McCoy,” the blue guy said and held a hand out towards Pepper. 

“Pepper, and that’s Darcy.” She waved with her free hand, and both men tracked the movement. Okay, if the blue guy is the doctor, then the other guy has to be Logan. That’s Jo’s father, somewhat. 

“Do you have an X-Ray? MRI? We need to check for internal damage.”

“Of course, right this way.” Darcy had to shake her hand to get it free, but it looked like the girl was completely out of it. The doctor and Pepper wheeled the bed out of the room, and Darcy slowly looked up at the last person left in the room. Wow, he is not a nice looking guy. Not like that. He’s attractive, in a scruffy way, but he doesn’t look all that friendly. 

“Darcy, right?” Yeah, that’s the same deep voice from the phone call earlier. She sat up a little straighter in her chair and squared her shoulders, because she’s heard stories about this man. This mutant. 

“That’s me, and you’re Logan.” One side of his lip twitched, but she wasn’t sure if he was trying to smile or fighting off annoyance. 

“Got any food in this place?” There could be some girl dying in their basement facility, and he’s hungry? “Don’t give me that look, kid. There ain’t nothing me or you can do for that girl. Sittin’ down here worryin’ about it ain’t gonna help anyone.”

“Well, when you put it like that, eating sounds logical. Right this way.” She forced her legs to hold her weight, and she felt Logan’s presence behind her all the way to the elevator. It wasn’t menacing or anything like that; the older mutant just had a presence that demanded to be felt. The elevator ride was quiet, and Logan didn’t react at all to the size of the foyer. 

“It’s just you and the redhead here?” The question startled her a little, and she paused in fixing a plate for him. What? She can be a good hostess. 

“For right now, yeah.” She dished out the chicken and rice, and Logan grunted a thanks when she placed it in front of him. She made a plate for herself, with a smaller portion, and stayed standing on the other side of the bar. 

“You’re not worried it’s a trap? Real convenient timing.” Steve and Natasha are in DC, which isn’t too far but still far enough to be ineffective. All of the others are in Greenland. Or maybe London. 

“A trap wouldn’t make any sense. It’s just me and Pepper. Don’t get me wrong, we’re awesome and everything, but we’re not really important,” Darcy shrugged. She pushed her rice around before finally giving in and popping some chicken into her mouth. 

“The CEO of Stark Industries isn’t important? You’re also perfect hostages.” When Darcy narrowed her eyes, he raised a brow at her. “CEO and…fiancée, right? As for you, you’re important to all of them.”

“How do you…?” She wasn’t even sure what she was trying to ask, but Logan knew the answer anyway. 

“Jo doesn’t call much, but she loves to text. I know she cares about you, just like I know Stark and the alien care about you too.”

“He’s a god, not an alien,” she pointed out on autopilot. Huh, Jo really must text him a lot for him to pick up on all that. 

“If you were a little younger, or if Jo was a little older, I think she’d think of you as a daughter.” Jo calls her “kid” and ruffles her hair. Sometimes she brings Darcy snacks, and she’s been teaching her how to dance. Whenever Darcy has a question or worry, she goes to Jo. 

“Sometimes I think she does. Her and Tony, they’re weird, but I like our little weird family.” Logan made another grunting noise, so she’s gonna assume that he’s a man of few words. They ate in silence from there on out, and Darcy took her time washing the dishes. She was a little surprised when Logan joined her to rinse the dishes and put them away, but she didn’t complain. Once the dishes were done and the leftovers were in the fridge, Darcy looked around the kitchen for something else to do. She was so spaced out that she nearly jumped out of her skin when a hand landed on her shoulder. 

“Get some rest, kid. There’s nothing else for you to do tonight.” This guy doesn’t know the first thing about her, but she doesn’t really feel like arguing with him. Logically, she knows that it’s early, but her body is exhausted. Probably from the adrenaline rush. Now she’s crashing. 

“Tell Pepper I’ll be in my room if she needs me.” Logan nodded and walked off, and Darcy lightly shook her head to clear it. She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, took a slow sip, and then turned to leave the kitchen. 

Once she was in her room, she let everything she’d been holding in out. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she remembered holding the girl’s hand as the nails were removed, and she fell onto her bed without even bothering to change. Her knees pulled up to her chest as she pushed her face into her pillow, and she cried for the girl whose name she didn’t even know. She doesn’t know her, but no one deserves that. As her tears started to slow, she felt something soft brush against her arm. She sniffled and raised her head, and a beak lightly nudged against her nose. 

“Sorry, Jade, I didn’t mean to scare you.” She scooted around and lifted her arm, and the chicken settled herself against Darcy’s stomach. Darcy reached down to lightly pet the dark feathers, and she let her eyes close as she cuddled up to the chicken. It’s been a long day, and she’s going to take comfort wherever she can get it.

**.xXx.**

All of the hostages were retrieved without injury, and the STRIKE force was whole. Steve completed his mission, and so did Natasha. He doesn’t like the idea of separate missions, not when they’re being kept from him. They’re supposed to be a team. There’s nothing he can do about it now though. He’ll talk to Fury tomorrow.

**.xXx.**

_CALL ME OR IM COMING 2 GREENLAND_

He sent the message with a sigh and pushed the phone back into his front pocket. For over twenty years, he’s been looking out for Jo Holbrook. She’d been two the first time she saw him; she’d toddled right up to him on her unsteady legs and latched onto his knee with a grip strong enough that he thought he might actually bruise. The only reason he wound up staying the night was because her mother, Camille, couldn’t pry the little thing off of him. He slept on the couch that night, with little Jo still attached to his leg. When he tried to leave the next day, she cried and wrapped herself completely around his legs. Her arms locked under his knees, her legs had locked around his ankles, and her bottom had sat firmly on top of his feet. 

Jo might not be his biological daughter, but he loves her as if she is. He might not say it enough, but he knows that she knows. No matter what happens, Jo will always be his little girl. Even after what those bastards at ROSE did to her, she’s still his Jo. Still the same little girl that refused to let him live a life alone. So when someone that she cares about asks for his help, he’s gonna help. He doesn’t know Darcy Lewis, but he does know that Jo’s got a fierce love for the girl. He can almost see why. Despite the weird situation she’s in, she’s handling it with a cool head. That’s better than most people. 

The AI system, JARVIS, told him that there were spare rooms for him and Hank to use. Hank was still busy with Jane Doe, who was currently unconscious and being prepped for surgery, so Logan got his bag from the jet and followed JARVIS’s instructions to the third floor. Where the guest rooms were. The elevator opened up into what looked like a living room, complete with couches and a big TV. Three doors on the left and three doors on the right. The last door on the right was wide open with light spilling out of it, but all of the other doors were closed. With a shrug, he walked over to the open door and looked inside. 

The girl, Darcy, was curled up on top of the blankets. The neat bun her dark hair had been was completely unraveled, and it looked like she had tear tracks on her cheeks. Holding it together until she’s alone? Definitely just like his little Jo. He called the girl’s name, quietly at first and then louder, but she didn’t budge a bit. A heavy sleeper, great. He dropped his bags and moved into the room, and the girl didn’t make a sound as he picked her up. He eyed the chicken that was lying on the bed, and the chicken looked back at him before moving up onto one of the free pillows. Logan pulled the blankets back and laid the girl back down, and the chicken waited until he’d pulled the blanket up over her shoulders before moving back down to rest in the curve of her body. Just what kind of weird shit happens here?

“Jo’s dating Hulk and has adopted a girl with a pet chicken. Anna Marie might be the normal one after all,” he grumbled to himself as he closed the girl’s door. 

He took the first door on the left, and he dropped his bags at the foot of the bed. It only took a few minutes to strip down and get ready for bed, and he’d just turned the light off when his phone buzzed. He groped blindly until he found the thing on the night table, and the light from the screen was nearly enough to blind him. It was a text, from Jo. 

_Talking my way out of jail. Will call asap_

As soon as she gets back, they’re having a really long talk about her life choices.

**.xXx.**

“The cops aren’t happy, but I talked them out of arresting all of you. But we need to go. Now,” Tony said. Johnny and Thor were able to get all of the new prisoners onto Tony’s jet, which was definitely parked illegally in the street in front of the club they’d been dancing at, and Jo glanced over her shoulder at the cops. So many flashing lights…some from the cop cars and others from cameras. Yeah, they should really get gone.

“Sounds like a plan to me! Let’s vamoose!” Doreen yelled and started skipping towards the jet. Thor gave her a small boost into the jet, and Jo followed Ben inside. Bruce was securing all the prisoners, and Tony was the last one inside. Clint was already at the controls, to get them in the air, and Jo collapsed into the seat between Tony and Bruce. 

“So, one minute I’m leading this epic train and the next—” Jo tuned out as Johnny explained the night’s events, and she let out a yawn as she dropped her head onto Bruce’s shoulder. Her right hand was gripping Tony’s, and the fingers of her left hand were laced with Bruce’s. The two of them really ground her, and she could really use that right now. Getting into Ben’s head hadn’t been easy, and she’s still carrying a bit of a headache from flexing her telepathic muscles. (It sounds weird, but she doesn’t know how else to explain it.)

She dozed a bit on the ride, and she didn’t wake up until Bruce gently shook her shoulder. She let him pull her up, and her eyes widened a little as people came inside to get the unconscious prisoners. Good riddance, Frightful Four. Her, Bruce, and Tony were the last ones off the jet. They were also the last ones inside the house, and they were immediately met by Reed and Sue. Both of them looked wide-eyed and worried, and that’s never a good thing. Jo straightened up at the out of place looks, and she felt Tony reach for her hand. 

“What happened?” Earlier, before Tony and Bruce arrived, she got a text from Logan. That’s not too unusual, they text a lot, but it was in all caps. It’s a little uncharacteristic for him, but he would have said if something was bad wrong. Right? 

“Come to the lab. You can talk to Pepper there.” Tony was right behind Reed, and she kept close to Tony’s back. Since Bruce was still holding her hand, he was pulled right along with her. She could hear Clint, Thor, and Doreen behind them too. When they reached the lab, there was a giant projection in the middle of the room. 

“Tony! I’ve been trying to reach you for the past two hours!” Pepper didn’t have a single hair out of place, but she still looked a little frazzled. 

“Did something happen? Is Darcy okay?” Pepper’s in a mostly white room, which has to be the med facility. 

“No, no, Darcy is fine. We’re both fine. Tony, someone left a girl at the front gate. She was badly injured, and there was a note.” Pepper looked around her, and Jo noticed the way that her whole face seemed to pale and tighten as she found what she was looking for. She held up the bloody sheet of paper, and Jo’s eyes flicked over the words. Viper, of course. Should have killed her when she had the chance. 

“Is she alive?” Tony’s voice was quiet, and Jo reached forward to rest a hand on his shoulder. 

“The girl is alive. Darcy mentioned taking her to a hospital, but she said it wasn’t safe. She’s been running from someone shooting at her all day, until Viper caught her a little before sundown. She was knocked out, and when she came to…” Pepper paused and pressed a hand to her stomach before continuing. “When she came to, Viper was nailing that paper to her stomach. All she knows is that she was in a van, and she was tossed out at the gate. We couldn’t take her to a hospital, and I didn’t know who else to trust so we called Logan.”

“Logan’s there?” She could feel eyes on her, but she kept her eyes locked on Pepper. 

“Yes, along with Dr. Hank McCoy. She had a broken rib that punctured a lung, but Dr. McCoy was able to repair her lung. As for the gunshots, he did the best he could. Tony, I don’t know who she is or why she was targeted, but someone wants her here. And they went through a lot of trouble to make sure of it.” Gunshots? A punctured lung?

“Fuckin’ Viper,” Jo heard herself growl. She felt a strong hand gripping her shoulder, and she looked over to see Clint standing next to her. He’s had a few run-ins with the woman as well, so he can understand her anger. 

“What do you want me to do?” Pepper asked. 

_“Someone left her on our doorstep. If we send her to a hospital, what’s going to stop Viper from doing something even worse?”_ Jo listened to Tony’s thoughts and really thought them over, and she slowly nodded. 

_“Agreed. She should stay at the mansion until we know more.”_

“Have JARVIS run her prints and DNA. Once she’s awake, try to find out more. We’ll be back in a few days, and we’ll sort this out,” Tony said and lightly squeezed her hand before letting go. 

“Let’s give them some privacy, hmm?” Reed asked and led them out of the lab. Jo waved to the others, and she let Bruce lead them to their room. After a quick shower, that was just a shower, they fell into bed. 

“Do you think it’s a trap or distraction of some kind?” Bruce’s voice was quiet in the dark room, and Jo cuddled up to him just a bit more. 

“Maybe, but Viper rarely does anything without a reason. We’ll know more once we know who the girl is.” She was a little comforted by the fact that Logan and Hank were there. Logan’s tough, and he’ll keep Darcy and Pepper safe. As for Hank, he’s a genius and one hell of a fighter.

**.xXx.**

_“Tsk, tsk, Tony.” The words sounded nearly playful, and he looked around the dark space for the source of the voice. It’s not Jo’s deep rumble, Darcy’s sleepy voice, or Pepper’s soft tone. It’s not even Natasha’s playful command or Maria’s direct order._

_“Isn’t the fire so pretty at this time of night?” The shadows pulled back and lightened, and he’s standing across the street from the mansion. The road is missing; there’s a pit where the road should be, and he can see the tops of the flames. It’s like a literal hell in the middle of the street. He can hear screaming coming from down below, in the fires._

_“Who’s in there?” He still can’t see who he’s talking to, and he can’t move._

_“Pepper was ready to take the plunge.” The unknown woman laughed at her pun, and Tony was able to drop to his knees and crawl to the edge of the pit. He can’t reach inside, but he can hear the screams._

_“Bring her back!” He’s yelling at darkness, but he’ll do whatever it takes to bring her out of the fire._

_“Sorry, Tony, I’ve moved onto another project. I think this one might be my masterpiece. What do you think?” The world around him lightened just enough for him to see the front gate of the mansion, and Darcy is pinned to it. There’s blood smeared across her forehead, like she’s been shot in the head. She healed from that though. A woman appeared next to Darcy’s body, and he knows her. He’s only seen pictures and videos, but he knows her._

_“Viper.”_

_“Ding-ding-ding!” Darcy’s body slowly slid down the gate until she was slumped against the ground, and she’s not moving anymore. “Kids these days. No manners at all. Can’t even sit up straight.”_

_“Don’t touch her!” Viper pushed up Darcy until she was sitting up straight, but her eyes are closed. She’s wearing a plain white tee shirt, which isn’t like Darcy at all, and his name is scrawled across her shirt._

_“Why? It’s too late for her. This is what your love does, Tony. It destroys.” Jo walked up to Darcy’s other side, and she’s covered in blood and bruises. Her green tank top is faded to a pale green in some places and darker from blood in others, and the bright pink boxer panties are mostly maroon now. Bruises cover her face, arms, chest, and legs. Blood is pouring from a crooked nose and trickling over split lips. There’s a ring of bruises around her throat._

_“It’s okay, Tony. You don’t have to save me. I’m fine.” Blood pours from her lips as she talks, and he watched as her cheek ignited. Skin and muscle disappeared under the fire, and she won’t stop smiling!_

_“Not like this. Not like this.” Pepper is screaming in the fire, Darcy won’t open her eyes, and Jo’s not healing._

_“Tony.” A hand, with thin fingers, gently gripped his shoulder. She smells like evergreen and ashes. “You should set them free. You should—”_

_“You should shut your fuckin’ mouth before I rip your tongue out through your teeth.” That growl is all Jo, but it’s not the Jo standing next to Darcy’s body. This is his Jo. She’s wearing his shiny black Darth Vader boxers and his black Iron Maiden tee shirt. Her braid is hanging over her left shoulder, and her eyes are nearly black as she bares her teeth at Viper. Viper, who is still standing behind him and gripping his shoulder._

_“You shouldn’t be here!” Viper’s fingers curl so that her nails cut into his shoulder, and none of this is making sense._

_“You’re one to talk! I don’t know how you managed it, but you better get the fuck out right now! I already owe you for Darcy. You really wanna piss me off some more? It’s only a matter of time before we find you, Viper.” The world around him is shimmering, like a mirage, and he can’t hear screaming anymore._

_“You’re getting stronger, Holbrook.” The nails were removed from his skin, and he turned his head to look up at the woman. Her green eyes flickered with madness, and she ran her tongue over her teeth as she looked Jo over._

_“I said, **GET OUT!** ” The dream shattered all around him, and he felt Jo’s hands running over his neck and arms. As if making sure he was okay again. He can’t see anything anymore. Just Jo. “C’mon, Tony, it’s time to wake up.”_

“What the hell was that?!” He’s sitting straight up in bed, and he turned his head to see two different pairs of eyes watching him. Jo, who had apparently been straddling him, was now sitting in the vee of his spread legs. Bruce was sitting on the edge of the bed and had a hand braced against Tony’s shoulder. Jo reached up to run her fingers through his hair, and he reached out to pull her to him. 

“I don’t know how the bitch managed to pull it off, but Viper got in your head. It’s not one of her specialties, so I’m betting she’s got some little helpers. Powerful little helpers,” Jo whispered quickly. She’s on her knees so that his face pressed against her chest and neck, her arms are wrapped tightly around him with her hands buried in his hair, and he can feel Bruce rubbing circles on his back because he’s still shaking. 

“Viper was in my dream.” It wasn’t a question, because that was different. He’s never had a nightmare quite like that before. Most of his nightmares are just memories. 

“Yeah. I was asleep too, but I could feel you. You were scared, panicking. When I realized what was happening, I grabbed Bruce and got in here as fast as I could. Bruce had to hold you down so that I could get in your head.” He’d been fighting to move in his dream, but he’d felt stuck. Maybe that’s why?

“Thanks, both of you.”

“Anytime,” Jo said immediately. 

“Whenever you need us,” Bruce added. 

“Now, I am completely exhausted. Who knew dream fighting could wear you down?” Jo slipped off of him, and Tony waited for them to leave. Then again, he should be used to Jo doing the opposite of what he expects. Jo moved so that she was between Tony and Bruce, and she grabbed the back of Tony’s neck to drag him down next to her. He wound up with his face against her stomach, and he felt one of her hands in his hair. 

“I thought we swore this would never happen again?” Tony asked once he was comfortable. 

“Special circumstances,” Jo slurred, like she was already asleep. Bruce had moved down just enough that his head was resting on her chest, and both men had their legs wrapped around hers. 

“We’ll add a clause to the contract,” Bruce managed to get out between yawns. This is a weird situation, but after that nightmare? He’s completely okay with it.

**.xXx.**

“Oh, hey, Thor. Lookin’ at the stars again?” Doreen shuffled forwards, an inch at a time, because she’s wrapped up in her blanket like a toasty burrito. Thor was already sitting on the roof, no blanket in sight, and he’s just in a pair of shorts and a tee shirt. Definitely a god.

“Yes. I am afraid that sleep has evaded me thus far.” He talks a little different sometimes, but Doreen likes it. Adds to the whole god image. 

“Yeah, same here. I don’t know if it’s the fight at the club or something else, but I just can’t seem to sleep. Are you worried about your friend?” 

She’s picked up a few things over the past couple of days, like about the missing members of the team. Natasha sounds kinda scary, but Doreen already has a little bit of hero worship going on for the female assassin. Steve sounds like everything she ever imagined and more, and she’s just praying that she doesn’t stutter or pass out when she meets him. Then there’s the non-combatants. Pepper runs Stark Industries, and she’s recently engaged to Tony. Last, there’s Darcy. The team, plus the girl herself, just recently learned that she’s a mutant. From what she’s been able to pick up, Thor and Darcy are close. Something big obviously went down back at Avengers HQ, so it would make sense for the big guy to be worried. 

“Darcy is very strong, but she has a caring heart. I worry that she will hurt herself trying to help another.” Well, this Darcy character sounds like a really good person. Doreen was able to extract her right arm out of her blanket, and she braved the chill of the air to place a hand on Thor’s forearm. 

“The mutant that’s there with her, Logan, will make sure that she stays safe. He’s a little rough around the edges, but he’s a good man.” She’s only heard about Hank McCoy in passing, and it’s been all good things. She actually knows Logan though, and she wants to put Thor’s mind at ease. 

“He is the one who raised Jo?” Thor’s large hand reached out to cover hers, which was a good idea since her fingers were turning blue. 

“Not from the beginning, I don’t think. He was a little vague on that part, but he had a picture of her when she was really little. Like, three or four? And I know he’ll look after Darcy and Pepper. Because he’s a good guy at heart, and he’ll do it because he loves Jo.” Logan was…Logan’s a complicated man. Which isn’t that surprising, considering all the shit he’s been through. When he talks about Jo and Anna Marie though? That’s pure love. 

“I only wish for Darcy to be safe.” It’s a little strange. When she thought of Thor, she thought of this all-powerful force. Thought of power that would shake the earth and leave sparks in the air. She wasn’t completely wrong. Thor’s strong, for sure, but he’s also really gentle. 

“How did you meet Darcy?” Thor’s holding her right hand in both of his, almost like an afterthought, and she didn’t even think about pulling away. He’s warmer than her blanket. 

“To tell that story, I must tell another story.” His words sounded heavy, and she scooted forward. Maybe it’s the adrenaline crash or the lack of sleep, but something made her scoot over so that she could rest her head on his bicep. She can’t exactly reach his shoulder. Her body is pressed against his ribcage though, and she can feel the heat of him through her thick blanket. 

“That’s okay. I like stories.”

**September 6, 2014**

“Say cheese!” Jo lazily opened an eye at the loud yell and immediately regretted it when a bright flash of light nearly blinded her. Tony grumbled something against the skin of her stomach, and Bruce was snoring against the side of her neck. Right, Viper managed to hack into Tony’s dream. They gotta figure out how she did that and make sure that she can’t do it again. Her thought process was cut off at the sound of light giggling, and she forced her eyes to open again. Clint and Doreen were standing in the doorway of Tony’s bedroom, Clint was holding his phone up, and Doreen was the one quietly giggling.

“What’s up?” Jo yawned. 

“Just taking some pictures for Darcy.” Clint snapped off another picture, and Jo twisted around until she found the alarm clock. She tossed it in Clint’s general direction, and she managed to hit him square in the stomach. Two points for the mutant!

“Just wait until I catch you in one of your nests. I’mma make a calendar for Darcy,” she groaned and snuggled back down. Tony and Bruce were covering her like living blankets, and she feels so warm and relaxed. It’s probably dangerous to feel this relaxed, considering everything that’s been happening, but she wants to enjoy it for just a moment longer. 

“So, um, apparently Thor is making pancakes? Clint swears that they’re worth dying for, but—”

“Alright, boys, time to wake up! You heard the lady! Thor’s making pancakes!” Jo was able to get Bruce and Tony vertical, and they took turns getting ready for the day. They’ve got a lot to talk about, and a lot to figure out. It’s gonna be a long day.

**.xXx.**

Steve left the Triskelion with a bad taste in his mouth and the sour feeling of worry in his gut. Project Insight. It’s a mistake. Fury said that Tony even helped with making the new hellicarriers, but did Tony realize exactly what he was working on? Tony made the decision to stay away from weapon manufacturing, and that’s just what Project Insight is. Even if no one is willing to admit it. He could call Tony, talk it out with him, but he doesn’t feel safe. Tony and the others should be back soon. He’ll ask him then, and they’ll figure this out together.

**.xXx.**

“Grrgl.” Darcy dropped the book she was reading, one of Jo’s trashy romance novels, and leaned forward in her chair. The girl was awake and looking around the room with wide eyes.

“Hold on, I’ll get you some water. JARVIS, can you tell Dr. McCoy that his patient is awake?” 

“Right away, miss.” Darcy scrambled to put some water in a Styrofoam cup, and she snagged a straw too. The girl watched her with dark eyes as she slowly sipped from the straw, and Darcy didn’t pull back until she waved her hand. She set the cup on the table next to the bed and slowly sat back in her chair. 

“I don’t know if you remember, but my name is Darcy.” She noticed that the girl was looking around the room, which looked exactly like every other hospital room. “You’re not in a hospital though. You’re safe here.”

“Skye. Bennet.” Progress! 

“Nice to meet you, Skye. Sorry about the circumstances.” Darcy remembers what it was like to be perfectly normal. Then one day a god fell from the sky and everything changed. It’s jarring and unsettling, so this girl is probably feeling completely out of place. Darcy’s plan is to do whatever she can to make all of this easier for her. 

“The woman, the one who left me here, who is she?” Man, Darcy would give anything for Jo to be here right now. Darcy’s a generally trusting person, especially when that person is as hurt as this girl, but she’s learned that looks can be deceiving. They talked it over this morning, and they decided not to tell Skye anything until Jo was back to read her mind. It was the only way to stay safe. 

“A very bad woman, but you don’t have to worry about her now. Just let the doctor look you over, okay?” Darcy stood up as Hank walked into the room, and Skye’s eyes widened so much that Darcy could see the whites of her eyes all the way around. “You can trust him.”

“How’s she doing?” Pepper asked as soon as Darcy stepped out the door. She could hear Hank’s deep voice through the door, not the words, but it was a calming sound. 

“She told me her name, and she looked confused. What’d JARVIS find?” The AI had more than enough DNA to work with, and Pepper’s pretty good in the lab. 

“Nothing unusual. No record of her birth parents. She was named by her first foster parents, but she didn’t stay there long. Moved from foster home to foster home until she was eighteen. Double majored in computer science and engineering. Currently works at Tel-Am, in the call center. No criminal record. She’s completely clean.” Huh, sounded a lot like Darcy’s own background. She could sympathize with all the foster homes, and it looks like they had the same idea when it came to college. Do as much as possible to get ahead in life, and then they both got stuck at sucky jobs. She really is just a normal girl. 

“We’ll know more when the others get here, right?” Darcy heard herself ask. She hates being paranoid, but she lives with the Avengers. There’s always going to be someone out to get them.

**.xXx.**

“He failed in his last mission.” Rumlow ducked his head at the glare trained on him, but he wasn’t about to take the words back. The asset was given a job, and he failed. An outsider was forced to come in and finish the job.

“But he will not fail in this one, will you?” The gray eyes that stared from above the black mask were clear and empty. 

“I will not fail.” The words were muffled, but he was heard. 

“I want Nick Fury dead before sunrise.” The asset didn’t say anything, but he didn’t need to. He knew what his punishment would be if he failed again, and Alexander Pierce was confident that the asset would not fail.

**.xXx.**

“Thank you again, Professor, for letting Dr. McCoy and Logan help out at the mansion,” Jo said to start with. Thor’s pancakes were long gone, and it was time to get down to business. Reed and Sue let them have the lab for this little conference, and Jo felt a little odd at being in the center. Bruce and Tony were on either side of her, Clint was sitting on a table off to the left, Doreen was next to Tony, and Thor was standing behind them.

“You are and always will be one of us, Josephine.” She ducked her head at that and tried not to feel ashamed. Xavier’s was her home once, but it’s been so long since she’s been back. “Now, tell me the real reason why you have called.”

“Well, last night…” She gave a brief description of Tony’s nightmare, there’s no need to air his dirty laundry, and she told the Professor that she was able to force Viper out. “My main worry is how she’s doing it, because I know she doesn’t have that ability. What if it happens again? Or to one of the other’s? I can’t keep an eye on everyone’s dreams.”

“Wearing a helmet would be counterproductive as well. If they called for help, you would be unable to hear them.”

“That’s my current dilemma, yeah.” She propped her elbows on her knees and watched the way that the Professor looked at everyone in the room. She knows there’s no way he can hear them at this distance, but the Professor has always been good at reading people. 

“There may be a way, but it could be dangerous for you. You have only just recently begun to accept your telepathy.”

“Whatever it is, I’ll do it. They’re not just my team, Professor. They’re family, you know?” The Professor smiled, something small and a little painful, and Jo felt her spine tingle. 

“That might make it easier, but it is very invasive. For everyone involved.” He looked around at everyone in the room, and Jo felt like her jaw was gonna snap because she was grinding her teeth so hard.

“Just give it to us straight, sir,” Clint drawled. At least he put a sir at the end. 

“If Jo were to create a mental link with each of you, it would be able to stop any other mental invasions. Jo would even be able to feel it if someone else attempted to enter your mind. There’s also the added bonus of being able to communicate at any time, no matter the distance. To establish the link, your minds must completely come together. When it is over, there will be no secrets between the two of you.”

“Will Jo be able to get into our minds whenever she wants?” Clint asked. 

“No. If anything, it will be easier for you to block her. Once the link is established, you have equal control. She can only enter your mind with permission, because the link creates a block. No one will be able to get into your minds without your knowledge.”

“I will allow Jo to create this…link between our minds.” Jo turned completely around in her chair to look up at Thor, because she was not expecting for him to be the first to agree. He must have noticed the confused look on her face, because he smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I trust you, Jo. I know you will not use your knowledge of my past against me, and I trust you to keep my confidentiality.”

“Having a mind block could be really useful too. Make sure that no one else can sneak in,” Clint said and rubbed the back of his neck. Oh, wow, that’s really big for her friend. She knows that what Loki did really messed him up, but he’s going to trust her. 

“Sounds like one of the easier initiations to me,” Doreen said and grinned over at her. 

“You’ve already seen the worst parts of me, sweetheart.”

“Hulk and I trust you, completely.” Jo had to blink rapidly to keep any of her tears from spilling out, and she sucked in a deep breath before turning back to look at the Professor. 

“Alright, sir, so just how do I do this?”

**.xXx.**

The asset stood in the middle of the street and watched his target come closer. This time, he will not fail. He cannot fail. No matter what it takes, he will complete his mission. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Logan/Wolverine is finally, physically, in the story! He’s one of my favorites, so I’m happy to have him around. The other mutant is Dr. Hank McCoy, also known as Beast. He’s tall, blue, furry, and really smart. 
> 
> The first Steve scene is right after the opening of _Captain America: The Winter Soldier_. Yep, it’s finally time for _TWS_ events! Who’s excited and ready to cry?! Because I am! The ending scene is right before the Winter Soldier shoots at Fury’s car. 
> 
> As for the mental links, they’ve been planned since the very beginning. Many things about this story have changed from the original plan, but that’s something that was always going to happen. So it might seem random, but I promise you that it’s not. There is an actual plot to this story, and the mental links are a big part of it. (At some point, I’m going back to the fluff. I really do miss writing the fun and fluffy scenes.)


	33. We're Going Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _the memories ease the pain inside_
> 
> _now I know why_
> 
> **Memories by Jackie Evancho**

“Darcy! Hey! How’s it going?” She blinked at the projection of Tony’s face, which was hovering over the kitchen counter, and shook her head. 

“There’s an unconscious girl in our basement, and there’s a blue furry dude teaching a class via Skype in my living room.” She’s pretty sure that this ranks somewhere in the top ten of weird mornings. Pepper had to go into the office, but she asked Darcy to stay at the mansion. They’re still corresponding through email and JARVIS, but Darcy feels like there’s more that she could be doing. More that she should be doing. 

“Stark. Where’s Jo?” The deep voice made her jump a little, and she glared over her shoulder at the gruff mutant. How does he walk so quietly?

“That’s why I’m calling. We’ve got another problem.” Darcy groaned and pushed her eggs away from her, because she can’t concentrate on her late breakfast when there’s another crisis waiting around the corner. 

Tony told both of them about Viper sneaking into his dreams, but Jo was able to force the woman out. The problem? Viper isn’t telepathic and can’t break into other people’s dreams, which means that she’s working with someone. Someone strong. Jo and the others talked to Professor Xavier, and they came up with a plan. Mental links sound kinda dangerous, for Jo, but the woman is willing to go through with it. All of the members there with her have agreed to go through with it too, which surprised Darcy. Bruce and Tony made sense, because Jo is already so close to them. After what happened with Loki, she figured Clint would refuse. And Doreen doesn’t even really know Jo! Thor’s not too surprising. Darcy knows that he trusts Jo, and trust is a big thing for the god. 

“When you get back, I’ll do the link up too. I don’t want Viper in my head.” She’s not stupid; she’s connecting the dots. Jo’s talked about the Professor and what he can do with his telepathy. He’s strong enough to actually take over people’s minds and make them do whatever he wants. If Viper is working with someone like that, it could mean trouble. Darcy herself might not be a fighter, but that doesn’t mean that someone else can’t take control of her mind and use her abilities however they want. 

“I was hoping you’d say that, kid. Jo’s going to start today, and we’ll be home once she’s done. The Professor said she’d have to go slow, but it shouldn’t be more than a couple of days. Update Pepper for me?” Tony looks worried, which is understandable. 

“Yeah, of course.” They said their goodbyes quickly, and Darcy looked down at the bar. 

“Jo’s strong enough to handle it.” She completely forgot that Logan was even in the room, and she looked across the room into his dark eyes. He looks calm, but looks can be deceiving. 

“Can you tell me about her? What was she like when she was a kid?” Maybe he could hear the desperation in her tone, because she needs something else to think about before she goes crazy. He moved around to sit on the stool next to her, and he pulled an old worn wallet out of his back pocket. 

“She was three. She thought her white Easter dress was boring, so she painted it.” The picture lying on the bar looked old, faded, but it was still clear. The little girl was smiling so wide that her cheeks looked stretched, and paints of nearly every color were streaked across her dress. It was impossible to tell that it even started out as white. There was a green smudge across her forehead. 

“Her first time riding a big girl bike. Five, I think. She got carried away and fell off. Chipped her tooth.” The little girl was grinning again, and one of her front teeth was chipped. 

He pulled out picture after picture; it was Jo’s life in little colored squares. There were some other pictures of another dark haired girl, Anna Marie, but they were never touching. They still managed to look like siblings though. For just a moment, Darcy wished that she could have met this Jo. There’s no darkness in her eyes. She looks so young and carefree, fearless and happy. Darcy almost wanted to cry, because Jo would never be that girl again. Whatever happened to her at that place, it changed her. Darcy just never realized how much, until now. 

“Don’t cry for her, kid.” She felt Logan’s large hand gripping her shoulder, and she reached up to roughly wipe her tears away.

“I’m not crying for my Jo. I’m crying for this one.” She tapped the picture of Jo in a graduation gown, with her eyes bright from the sunshine. Logan didn’t say anything, but he kept his hand pressed against her shoulder. It’s a good thing too, because it was the only thing holding her together at the moment.

**.xXx.**

They drew straws to determine the order, and Jo sighed a little in relief when Bruce drew the short straw. She’s already been inside of his head and seen a good bit of his less than pleasant memories, so establishing a mental link with him should be easy. Well, maybe not easy, but something close to it. The Professor explained that for this to work, she’ll have to let all of her mental barriers down. They’ll basically be swapping brains for a little bit while the link is made, and she’s really not looking forward to all of her teammates seeing the darkest parts of her past. Then again, they’re probably not looking forward to her learning all of their dark secrets either. Oh well. They can’t take the chance of someone else coming in and taking them over, so this is their only option.

“Ready?” They’re sitting in their temporary bedroom, facing each other with their knees touching, and their hands are laced together. 

“I know you can do this,” Bruce said with a little smile. They closed their eyes, and Jo slowly lowered every single wall she had locked inside of her mind. 

"I'm glad one of us is confident about this," Jo muttered just as her mind touched against Bruce's. She could hear Hulk rumbling in the background, but he trusted her too. They both trust her, and she’s not going to let them down.

**.xXx.**

“Hey, I brought you some soup. I know it’s not much, but Dr. McCoy said you should probably avoid solids for a little while.” Darcy spoke and moved around without actually looking at the girl on the hospital bed, because all of this is weird and confusing. Dr. McCoy and Logan both told her not to tell the woman anything, just in case this was some kind of elaborate ruse.

_“She was hurt, but none of it was fatal. That lung could’ve been an accident. Viper could’ve sent her in to get your sympathy. Get you to let your walls down. You can’t trust her.”_

That’s what Logan said, after their touching talk about Jo’s past. Little Jo had been so adorable, but she needs Big Jo. Logan and Dr. McCoy were already talking about maybe getting the Professor down to the mansion to check the woman over, but he’s apparently not in the best of health these days. Dr. McCoy doesn’t want him to leave the school, but Logan thinks that her and Pepper could be at risk. (That all of the Avengers could be at risk.) So now she’s bringing soup to someone that could be out to kill her and her friends _(her family)_ , or she could be someone that was at the wrong place at the wrong time and just needs a friend. Darcy can be a friend without revealing anything too important, right?

“Am I a prisoner?” Luckily, Darcy had already put the soup on a little rolling table because she jumped at the question. When she looked over, the woman had her arms lying limply at her sides and a resigned look in her eyes. 

“What? No. Of course not. Why would you think that?” She pushed the table over to the bed, adjusted it so that the woman was sitting up while still technically lying down, and then put the table in front of her. 

“I’m not stupid. My doctor is a mutant, and that redhead is Pepper Potts. If I’m not in a hospital, I’m in some kind of private facility. That Pepper Potts has access to, so I’m assuming that Tony Stark is involved. I don’t know what’s going on, I don’t why I was shot at or why that woman dumped me at some house, and I don’t know how everyone here seems to know so much about me when I’ve barely said a word. I want to go home.” By the end of her speech, her chest was rising and falling too fast for someone with a recently punctured lung and broken ribs. Darcy felt awful, and she didn’t know how to help. 

“It’s all kind of crazy, huh?” she finally asked. She pulled a chair over to the woman’s bedside and slowly sat down next to it, and dark brown eyes slowly narrowed at her. 

“That’s the understatement of the year.” Her name is Skye. Skye Bennett. 

“The first time I met Tony Stark, he already knew pretty much everything about me. What I majored in, my degrees, my bank account number, and even where I lived. Not gonna lie, I kinda had a small panic attack. Not in front of him though,” she added quickly. Jo had left her in her new bedroom, and her new situation had taken a few minutes to sink in. She was used to weird by that point, but that…what Tony did for her made her head spin. 

“I don’t think the two situations compare.” Skye slowly sipped at her soup, and Darcy bit her lip. First med room on the right. This is the room she was in when Viper tore into her stomach and then shot her in the head. Thor leaned against those cabinets and held her body in his lap while he cried, because they all thought she was dead. She should be, but her mutant genetics kicked in to save her. 

“I almost died in this room, because of Viper. I can still remember how it felt, and sometimes I can hear her voice,” Darcy whispered. She’s pretty sure this is the kind of information that she’s supposed to keep to herself, but it’s not like she’s giving out specifics or anything. 

“Will everything go back to normal soon?” Skye looked small against the white sheets, and Darcy tapped her fingers against her knees. 

“I don’t know.”

**.xXx.**

Doreen sat up a little straighter in her chair as Tony and Jo entered the dining room area, and she tried to keep her surprise off her face. Bruce joined them about twenty minutes ago, but the doctor hasn’t said a word since he sat down. Doreen wasn’t gonna question it, because she’s pretty sure that having someone know every inch of your mind is…invasive and terrifying. She’s not really looking forward to it herself, but she’d rather have Jo in her head than Viper. (They’ve crossed paths, and the two definitely don’t get along.) Jo and Tony slowly took their seats, and Thor reached over to grab Jo’s shoulder with one large hand.

“You must not strain yourself.” Tony looks a little shaken, a little paler than normal, but Jo looks worse. Her eyes are bloodshot, and there’s dark smudges under her eyes. She looks like she hasn’t slept in weeks. 

“I’m fine, really. There is good news though.” Even her rough voice sounds more strained than normal, and she noticed Bruce lacing his fingers through Jo’s under the table. 

“Good news?” Clint prompted. 

“Tony didn’t see any of Bruce’s memories. It’s like everything I got from his mind was in its own separate little world. So you don’t have to worry about everyone knowing your dirty laundry.” Jo tried to smile, but it didn’t really work. “So, who’s going tomorrow?”

“I’m up first, then Doreen, and Thor’s last,” Clint listed. Jo slowly nodded her head and reached out for a slice of pizza. The Fantastic Four dropped off a giant pile of pizza boxes about thirty minutes ago and then left them to their own devices. Maybe they knew that Jo, Bruce, and Tony wouldn’t be up for a lot of social interaction? Because they all look a little haunted. 

“First thing in the morning?” Jo asked and looked across the table at the archer. Clint looked completely relaxed, leaned back in his chair and everything, but the skin next to his eyes was tight. 

“It’s a date.” Clint winked at Bruce, who tiredly smiled back, and the rest of dinner was pretty quiet. Jo, Bruce, and Tony were the first ones to leave. They barely ate anything, and all of their goodnights were mumbled. Clint was next; he left with an extra swagger in his step, but Doreen’s been around enough tough guys to know that means he’s just super worried about what’s going to happen tomorrow. 

“I worry for them,” Thor said quietly. The big guy is still eating, but Doreen’s learning that most of the guys eat more than usual. So does Jo. 

“Do you think Jo is taking on too much?” Monkey Joe lightly butted his head against her hand, and she reached up to rub between his ears. 

“It is possible, but it is necessary.” Necessary, right. They’re all going to be okay; they just have to get through the next couple of days.

**.xXx.**

“I know we have the no three-way cuddle agreement, but can we break it tonight? Just one more time?” Jo asked. They’re standing in the hallway, between the door to her room with Bruce and Tony’s room. Bruce is on her left and Tony is on her right, but she can’t really bear the thought of being away from either of them. Especially after today.

“One more time?” Tony asked and looked over her head at Bruce. 

“One more time,” Bruce agreed. Her and Bruce went into their room to change, and Jo was in her pajamas in record time. Bruce wasn’t far behind her, and Tony was already lying down when they made it to his room. Jo immediately moved to the center of the bed and latched onto him, and she felt Bruce curling around her. 

“I love you, sweetheart.” After seeing all her memories, Tony held her and cried. Ran his hands over the top of her head and pushed his fingers against her ribs, and he even pressed light kisses against her throat where Clint’s arrow had went in. She’d kept her hands pressed flat against the arc reactor, like she could hold it there forever and make sure that no one ever tried to take it from him again. 

“It’s going to be okay, Jo,” Bruce whispered against the nape of her neck. Because she’s crying again, this time into Tony’s hair, and she felt Bruce’s arms tighten around her hips. 

After their minds finally separated earlier, Jo and Bruce just held each other. She’d already seen his worst memories and vice versa, but seeing it all again hadn’t been easy. She’s so mentally exhausted that it’s effecting her physically, and she knows that tomorrow isn’t going to be easy either. She knows that Clint has done things, both under orders and before SHIELD, and it’s going to hurt to see her friend doing those _things_. She’s not so sure about Doreen, the other mutant seems normal enough, but Jo knows that you can hide horrible things behind smiles. She has to do this though. She has to keep them safe.

“I’ll keep you safe,” she whispered and dropped into sleep.

**.xXx.**

The man that threw his shield at him actually pushed him back a few feet. No human could do that. Fury is dead, and there’s an unknown out there that killed him. He needs to call the others, to tell them what’s happening, but he can’t trust anything right now. If he calls them, they might be tracked. He might be tracked. Nothing is safe anymore.

**September 7, 2014**

“Are you sure about this, Clint?” His eyes are dark today, and his hands are clenched at his sides. She’s already sitting in the middle of his bed, ready to go, and he looks like he’s going to punch something.

“Better you than an enemy, right?” After a few more paces, he moved onto the bed and copied her position. Legs crossed, knees pressed together, and she reached for his hands. 

“You’ll be able to feel me, kinda like a weird tickle, and you’re gonna want to push me out. Don’t. Once I’m in your head, it’s gonna be like our brains switch. It’ll be worse if you fight it, so, try to stay calm.”

“We can do this, Josie.” She nodded at that and closed her eyes, and she felt her chest expand as she took a deep breath. Surprisingly, Clint’s mind was wide open. He was trusting her, fully, and she tightened her grip on his hands as she went deeper. She doesn’t need surface thoughts; she needs _everything_.

_He’s four, and Barney’s telling him that their parents are gone. Car accident, he says. They have to leave their home and move into a large building with a lot of other kids. Some of the kids have bruises just like his, hidden under clothes and away from eyes._

_He’s ten, and Barney’s sneaking them out of the orphanage. The carnival is leaving town tonight, and they’re going with them. Swordsman takes him on as an apprentice, teaches him archery, and Clint’s good. For the first time in his life, he can do something right. Whenever he hits a hard target, Swordsman ruffles his hair. Barney works with Trick Shot, and they both help Clint out with his act sometimes. It’s almost like a real family._

_He’s twelve, and Barney’s telling him to keep his mouth shut. They saw Swordsman taking money from the carnival, and it’s wrong. They’re supposed to be a family. Clint wants to do the right thing, but he doesn’t get the chance. Before he can tell the truth, Swordsman catches him alone and beats him. Beats him worse than his daddy ever did and then just leaves him in the woods on the edge of town. Clint’s practice arrows are broken around him, and it’s weeks before his arms heal enough for him to shoot again. Barney and Trick Shot both tell him that he should’ve just kept his mouth shut, and Swordsman is gone._

_He’s fifteen, and Barney’s been gone for over a year. Clint’s with a different circus now, and there’s this little girl that follows him around everywhere. Lily. She’s the daughter of one of the clowns, but none of the others really pay attention to her. Sometimes at night, Lily balances her little feet on top of his so they can dance. She’s only eight when she dies of pneumonia, and he digs her grave alone._

_He’s seventeen, and there’s a man telling him that he can be better than this. Better than a carnival attraction. He says that he can save people; he can use his gift to help others. Clint’s in handcuffs and has two black eyes from a bar fight, but the other guys are looking worse. The man sitting across from him is wearing a clean suit and keeps smiling like he knows some big secret. Clint shrugs and takes the job._

_He’s twenty, and Phil’s telling him to stick to the mission. He’s got eyes on the target, but he can’t fire his arrow. He knows that look in her dark eyes. This was not her choice. That’s not free will in her eyes, that’s forced obedience. He knows that look. The arrow releases cables that wrap around her legs and forces her onto the pavement, and he’s got a knee in the middle of her back within seconds. She could fight him off. She’d probably win. He’s seen her move, and he knows he’s no match for her. He tells her that things can be better. That she can right her wrongs. (She says that her wrongs can’t be changed; there’s too much red spilling over the pages.) She comes with him._

_He’s twenty-two, and Natasha screamed as a chair leg was forced through her thigh. He fired without thinking, and the eyes that meet his are confused and a little grateful. She’s thin and naked, and his arrow is in her throat. He thinks she smiles before the arrow explodes. Telepath. Now he’s seen it all. When they dance, he’s scared that she’ll slip right out of his arms. She’s broken, but she can be fixed. Just like he was fixed. Like Natasha was._

_He’s twenty-six, and Phil has him out in the middle of the desert watching over a hammer in a crater. A blonde behemoth screams at the sky when he can’t lift it, and it’s a sound that Clint recognizes. It’s the same sound he made once Lily was in the ground. When the big guy turns out to be an alien, a god, Clint’s not even surprised. There’s giant green guys, billionaires flying in metal suits, and now there’s Thor._

_He’s thirty, and Clint is gone. His mind is gone. Loki tells him what to do, and he does it. Loki asks him questions, about his teammates, and he answers. He shoots on command. Kills on command. Face after face. Some familiar, some strange. All dead by one of his arrows. When Natasha brings him back, nothing is the same. A part of him died, just like Phil died, and he doesn’t even have time to mourn for them. Aliens are in New York, and he’s still the World’s Greatest Marksman. He’s got red in his ledger now, and he’s gotta wipe it out._

_He’s thirty-one, and they’ve become a team. Despite all the destruction and fall out from New York, they’ve come together. It took some time, but they’re together. Natasha and Jo are living under one roof, and he hasn’t seen a pig fly once. Tony makes him new toys, and Bruce makes sure that he isn’t injured. Steve is their leader, looks out for them, and he’s still rooting for Thor. Darcy is…Darcy is like a breeze on a summer day. She walks into the room, and everything is just better._

Jo pulled back with a groan and instantly reached up to rub her temples. In between the more fleshed out chunks of memories, she caught glimpses of missions. Missions where the target had to be eliminated. Saw broken bodies when SHIELD was too late. Felt Clint’s anger and fear at having his mind being taken away from him. Because if he’s not in control of his own mind, then who is he? Jo forced her eyes open, and Clint was already looking at her. Her reached a hand out, and Jo held completely still as he pressed two fingers against the hollow of her throat. 

“It was so soft, before. Your mother said you had the voice of an angel, and I took that away. I took it away.” She reached up and grabbed his wrist, and she felt her lips pulling in a smile. 

“You saved me. You took me away from that place and helped me dance again.” He knows everything that’s happened to her; knows the exact shade of her Ma’s eyes, knows what those doctors did at ROSE, and knows about all the people she killed for SHIELD. Her kill count is higher than his. 

“I do love you, Josie, and not just when we’re dancing.” This time her smile felt shaky, and she laughed as she collapsed forward against him. 

“Love you too, Clinton.” He might have said something else, but she didn’t hear it.

**.xXx.**

“Pepper! Pepper, get in here! Pepper!” Darcy was yelling at the top of her lungs, and she heard the hurried clicks of Pepper’s heels. Pepper decided to spend the day at the mansion, all her work could be done from here, and she’d been in the kitchen getting some lunch. Darcy was in the den, with Logan of all people, and watching the giant screened TV. Dr. McCoy was downstairs with Skye, who was slowly getting better. She’s stable at least.

“Is something wrong? Is it Tony?” Pepper asked as she ran into the room. Darcy pointed a finger at the screen, which had a giant picture of Steve’s face. 

“They’re saying he’s a fugitive!” Darcy yelled. How could anyone accuse Steve Rogers of being a traitor? A fugitive?

“Something isn’t right,” Logan quietly agreed. 

“We need to call Tony.” Pepper was looking a little pale, and Darcy felt like she was going to throw up. What the hell is going on?

“Don’t. If the government is after Rogers, there’s a chance they’re monitoring all known associates. Including Stark.” Logan was making logical sense, but Darcy still had a knot in her stomach. This isn’t right. 

“They should be home in a day or two. Maybe it’ll all be figured out by then,” Pepper said and nodded her head once. Like she was trying to convince herself.

**.xXx.**

“Whoa, that was super trippy. I think you’re the strongest person I’ve ever met.” Jo slumped back against Doreen’s bed and kept her eyes closed, and she listened as Doreen shuffled around. The other woman laid on her back next to Jo, with their shoulders and thighs brushing, and Doreen sighed quietly.

“I can’t believe you’re thirty. You look so young,” Jo finally managed to get out. 

“Hooray for mutant genetics.”

“Heh.”

After getting into Clint’s mind that morning, Jo slept for a few hours. When she woke up, she ate a small lunch of a sandwich and an apple, and then followed Doreen to her room. Doreen’s memories were softer than all of the others’ that she’s consumed so far. There were some hard times in her past; her parents hadn’t been expecting her mutant characteristics. Like the tail. She had to keep herself hidden from everyone, and her childhood and teenage years were lonely ones. She moved around after graduation, because her parents never seemed to want her around. She helped people when she could, which is how she met Logan. Seeing her father figure in a slightly romantic light was weird, but Jo thought it was mostly sweet. It’s a good thing they parted as friends, because Jo likes Doreen. 

“What they did to you…it’s awful. You know how some people say mutants and the enhanced are monsters? It’s like they forgot that humans can be monsters too,” Doreen whispered. Jo flapped her hand around until she found Doreen’s, and she laced their fingers together. 

“That’s why us mutants gotta stick together.” Doreen has mostly been alone her whole life. She’s starved for touch and affection, and she’s come to the right team. 

“Damn straight!” Jo tried to laugh, but she felt too tired. It felt like her body weighed a ton, and rolling her head towards Doreen and opening her eyes felt like it took a million years. 

“I’m gonna take a nap, okay?” Doreen’s eyes, which were a beautiful reddish brown up close, softened a bit. 

“Get some sleep, tank. Everything will be fine.”

**.xXx.**

Dinner came and went, and Jo still didn’t wake up. After everyone was through eating, Bruce carried her from Doreen’s room back to their room. Doreen watched them walk down the hallway and waited until they were gone before ducking into her room. She took a nap of her own after Jo fell asleep, but she woke up in time for dinner. This is the first time she’s been on her own since that whole mind swap thing, and she could use a shower. The best thing about a hot shower? She can cry and cry and cry…and no one will know.

They tortured her, over and over again. Doreen felt each shock and slice as if she was the one stuck in that horrible place, and she cried for what her fellow mutant went through. She knows that it could have just as easily been her, if someone had found her while she was drifting around. She’s never felt so exposed either, and she can still feel Jo’s presence in her head. She knows the other woman isn’t actually in her head, but it feels like an actual wall is wrapped around her mind. It’s strong and soft, like the mutant herself. She’s protected and overwhelmed, so she’s having herself a good cry. She has a feeling that Jo wouldn’t judge her for it anyway.

**.xXx.**

The bunker exploded, and they’re lost. They can’t go to the mansion and put the people there at risk. Darcy and Pepper don’t need to be in the crossfire. They can’t contact any of the others. They’re alone. It’s just Steve and Natasha against Hydra, and Steve’s not sure how they’re going to win this one.

**September 8, 2014**

“Something happened.” Darcy startled out of her thoughts and realized that Skye was awake. She’d been asleep when Darcy first walked in, so Darcy had sat in the chair at her bedside and let her thoughts drift. It’s been a day since Steve was called a fugitive by SHIELD, and they haven’t heard anything else.

“It’ll be okay.” Wow, that doesn’t even sound believable to her ears. Skye rolled her eyes but didn’t push her for answers. 

“Got any board games?” Darcy blinked, and Skye smiled up at her. The girl’s been shot multiple times and has some broken ribs, but she wants to help Darcy? She really hopes Skye doesn’t turn out to be a bad guy, because the girl is growing on her. 

“I’m sure I can find something.”

**.xXx.**

Around noon, screams started coming from Thor’s room. Tony and Clint rushed into the room, and Doreen stopped next to Bruce in the doorway. The doctor’s hands were turning green, and his eyes kept flashing between a dark brown and bright green as Jo continued to scream. Jo and Thor were sitting in the middle of the bed, fingers locked, and they both had their heads thrown back with their eyes closed. Jo’s scream was nearly deafening, and Thor’s teeth were locked together but there was a sound rumbling in his chest. The veins on their necks stood out, and it looked like every muscle they had was strained. Tony climbed up on the bed behind Jo and held onto her, and Clint did the same for Thor. It was like Jo and Thor were trying to push away from each other, but their hands were still locked together.

“What’s happening?” Doreen heard herself ask. She wasn’t expecting an answer, but she got one. 

“We should have realized it would be harder with Thor. She’s taking in all of his memories, and he’s a thousand years old. It’s too much, for both of them,” Bruce said. Parts of him were smudged with green, and Doreen worried that he was going to hulk out at any second. 

“Can’t we stop them?” Jo wasn’t screaming anymore; her jaw was locked, but she was clearly in pain. They both were. 

“The Professor said it couldn’t be stopped once it started. It could damage them permanently.” 

“So, we wait?” Doreen looked over and met Bruce’s eyes, and she knows how much he cares about Jo. She’s seen the way he looks at her, with her own eyes and with Jo’s. 

“We wait.”

**.xXx.**

Hill is still on their side, but that’s not surprising. Fury is still alive, and he’s not too surprised at that. Bucky is alive, Bucky is the Winter Soldier, and that is a surprise. He’s been alive this whole time, but Hydra has twisted him. Brainwashed him. They’re on different sides, but Steve refuses to accept that. Bucky has always been on his side, and he’ll make this right.

Agent Sitwell, who was working for Hydra, told them about Project Insight’s true purpose. Three giant hellicarriers are set up to take out anyone that could be a potential threat to Hydra. They have a way to take them down, but there’s only four of them. Him, Natasha, Hill, and Sam Wilson. Sam doesn’t have to help them, this isn’t his fight, but the man isn’t backing down. Steve can respect that. Tomorrow, they’re going to stop Hydra from killing millions. They have to, because if they don’t…

“If you’re not careful, your face will stick like that.” He looked up at Maria, who smiled before sitting next to him. They’re in some underground facility, where Fury has been recuperating, but they’ll only be safe for tonight. 

“We need to call Tony. We know that all of the Stark properties have been targeted. If we fail, Pepper and Darcy could be hurt.” They could be killed, but he doesn’t want to think like that. 

“That’s why I brought this.” Maria handed over a phone, bigger than the slim ones he’s used to seeing now, and she shrugged. 

"I don't know if—”

“It’s safe. Untraceable. Number’s all set up. Just press send.” She smiled at him one more time before walking off, and he waited until he couldn’t see her anymore before pressing the button. There were only two rings before someone picked up, a woman…Susan Richards. She got the phone to Tony quickly, and Steve was surprised that the man stayed quiet until he was done talking. 

“Fury promised me those hellicarriers were for safety. Not elimination,” Tony said when he was done. 

“That might have been what Fury intended, but Hydra has different plans. Can any of you get here tomorrow?”

That’s when it was Tony’s turn to talk. Viper, the woman that shot Darcy, left a very wounded woman at Tony’s gate. She’s still at the mansion, in the med facility, being cared for by one of Jo’s old teachers. Viper also found a way to break into Tony’s dreams, so there was the fear of her or whoever she was working with being able to control their minds completely. Jo’s been setting up mental links with everyone, to protect them, and it’s taken a lot out of them. Everyone there is protected, but it took too much out of Jo. Her and Thor are still unconscious. They can’t help. There’s not enough time. 

“We can ask the X-Men for help,” Tony suggested. 

“I won’t ask them to risk their lives for our mess. Get Darcy and Pepper somewhere safe. They can’t stay at the mansion.”

“I’ll call them. And Steve?” Tony didn’t like him at first, and the feeling was mutual. Now? They might not be the closest of friends, but they are friends. 

“What?” He needs to prepare for tomorrow. 

“Don’t get yourself killed.” Steve laughed, a quiet and rough sound, and shook his head. 

“I won’t.” The call ended without any goodbyes, which was just fine with Steve.

**.xXx.**

“Say that again.” Darcy looked up at the sound of Logan’s growl, because that was definitely a growl. Pepper and Dr. McCoy were looking at him too, but Logan didn’t seem to notice or care. His knuckles were nearly white around the phone pressed to his ear, and he looked like he was ready to fight something.

"Logan?” Pepper’s voice was quiet, but Logan still didn’t seem to notice her presence. Didn’t seem to notice any of them. 

“There’s a hellicarrier, with lasers, that are going to aim at this house?” Darcy made a sound between a yelp and a screech, and she felt Pepper reach out to grab her hand. “And Jo is unconscious because she absorbed a thousand years’ worth of memories?”

“Is this real life?” Darcy whispered to herself. Pepper just squeezed her hand harder. 

“Yeah, I’ll get ‘em somewhere safe, but we’re havin’ a talk when you get back.” Logan shoved his phone back into his pocket and turned to glare at all of them. Well, that’s just how he normally looks. 

“Hydra’s been hidin’ in SHIELD since the beginning, and tomorrow they’re going to try to wipe out their enemies. Like Stark. If they’re not stopped, this place is gonna explode. We’re going to a safe house. Hank, get the girl ready for travel.” Pepper started firing off questions, but Logan pretty much ignored her. Darcy mostly just felt numb. Everything’s falling apart. 

“Why can’t you help them?!” Pepper suddenly screamed. Logan turned to look at her, and Darcy watched as he strode forward until he was right in Pepper’s face. 

“I am going to keep you and the girl safe, because that’s what Jo would want. Rogers can take care of himself.” He stalked off after that, and Pepper seemed to deflate. Dr. McCoy turned from the room, probably to go get Skye ready, and Darcy absently got to her feet. 

“We should probably pack a bag. Some clothes. Stuff we want to keep in case the house gets blown up.” The whole time Darcy was in the elevator, she prayed that she’d wake up soon.

**.xXx.**

“Well, this couldn’t have happened at a worse time,” Doreen muttered. SHIELD is actually Hydra, and there’s only two Avengers stateside to fight them. Great. They’re all still in Thor’s room, because Jo and Thor are still unconscious. Their minds stayed locked for hours, hours longer than anyone else, and they both look a little haggard.

“Steve and Natasha will take care of everything,” Clint said. 

“And Logan’s taking the girls somewhere safe,” Tony added. 

“The next twenty-four hours are gonna really suck, huh?” Doreen asked. 

“They certainly won’t be easy,” Bruce agreed. Thor and Jo didn’t even move at the sound of their voices.

**.xXx.**

Anna Marie leaned back against the front door and flicked her eyes over at Remy. He was sitting in the rocking chair on the front porch, and he looked like he didn’t have a care in the world. She was tempted to go over there and kick the chair over, but she’s keeping her eyes peeled for the jet. She’d been surprised when Logan called and told them what was happening, but she’d agreed to setup the safe house for everyone. Now she’s just waiting for them to get here.

“You’re too tense, cheri. Lighten up.”

“I’ll lighten up when everyone’s safe,” she shot back. How can he be so calm at a time like this? 

“Ain’t no such thing.” She took one step to go kick his ass, but the jet landing saved him. She walked down the front steps as the hatch opened, and the first thing that came out was a hospital bed. Hank was the one pushing it, and Logan came out next flanked by two females. Both women looked shook up, but that’s reasonable considering what’s about to happen. A part of her wants to help, but she won’t go against the Professor’s orders. The X-Men are to stay out of SHIELD’s business. 

“We’ve got a room cleared out for her,” Anna Marie said as Hank reached them. Remy finally got off his ass to help Hank carry the bed up the steps, and the woman on the bed was unconscious. Anna Marie led them through the small cabin, and the room they put the hospital bed in wasn’t very big but it was at least neat. 

“Anna Marie.” She turned at the sound of his gruff voice and nearly tackled him. He stumbled back a step, but he kept them upright. 

“I’ve been so worried. How’s Jo?” It took her years before she could control her mutation, and she’s still amazed sometimes when she touches someone else’s bare skin. Like right now. She’s holding Logan’s hands, and nothing’s happening to either one of them. 

“Still unconscious.” Anna Marie bit her lip at that but didn’t say anything. Jo, Josephine…she thinks of the older mutant as her big sister. Even when Anna Marie was still terrified of touching people, Jo never hesitated to put a hand on her shoulder or ruffle her hair. She looked up to Jo, loved her, and she can’t stand the thought of her big sister in pain. 

“Quit your worryin’, Anna Marie. Jo’s tough. She’ll be just fine. Darcy, Pepper, nice to see you again.” The two women looked up at the sounds of their names, and the shorter one smiled and gave a little wave with her free hand. She was holding a chicken in the crook of her other arm. 

“Thank you for helping us,” the taller one said. Pepper Potts. That means the brunette is Darcy Lewis. 

“Anytime. Come on in and get settled. We can sit in a circle and worry later,” Remy said and waved them forward. Anna Marie slapped at his chest, because now is not the time to be flippant, but he just caught her hand and kissed her fingers before walking off. 

“Sure I can’t kill him?” She smiled as she pulled Logan’s arm around her shoulders and shook her head. 

“Won’t be much of a wedding without the groom. Now, how about you tell me what’s really going on?” Logan raised a brow at her, but she’s not stupid. There’s a lot of bad things going down, and she wants to know all about it. Now.

**September 9, 2014**

“Oh, my head,” Jo groaned as she finally returned to consciousness. Thor was stirring next to her, but neither one of them has opened their eyes yet. Bruce was sitting on the bed next to Jo, up close to her head, and Doreen watched the way that he gently brushed the hair off her forehead. Clint is sitting next to Thor and leaning over him to see when he’s gonna wake up. Her and Tony are sitting at the end of the bed, watching the news.

“I believe we may have taken on more than we could handle,” Thor said just as his eyes opened. 

“How long were we out?” Jo asked. Her eyes are open now too, and she saw Bruce look at Tony before looking back at her. 

“Close to twenty-four hours,” Bruce answered. 

“And you missed a lot,” Clint added. Tony and Clint took turns explaining their newest problems, and Bruce had to hold onto Jo’s shoulders as she struggled to get up. It was clear that she still wasn’t at full strength, and Thor had to lean on Clint when he stood up. 

“We have to help him, Tony! If this Winter guy really is Bucky, Steve won’t be able to take him out! He won’t fight him! He could die!” Bruce’s arms were locked around her middle, pinning her arms to her sides, and Doreen flicked her eyes over at Tony. 

“It’s already too late, sweetheart. See?” Tony turned back to the TV, but Doreen didn’t bother. The news has been replaying what happened for the past hour, and she doesn’t need to see that destruction again. Three giant hellicarriers falling from the sky, countless lives lost…it’s awful. 

“Have we heard from any of them?” Jo’s hoarse voice was barely louder than a whisper, and she was holding onto Bruce now. 

“Natasha said they were all alive. She also dumped everything onto the web. _Everything_.” Clint’s arms were crossed, but they’ve already discussed why Natasha did what she did. She exposed Hydra, but she also exposed SHIELD in the process. 

“I’m already working on getting our stuff off,” Tony said and tried to smile. 

“Just, please tell me that we can go home. I want to go home.” Tony got up from the bed and walked around until he was standing next to Jo and Bruce. Jo reached out to grab his hand, and Doreen thought it was a very touching scene. 

“We’re going home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the mental links are happening very quickly, but I thought it’d be better to get through them quickly instead of dragging out every little detail. There will be random moments though when Jo recalls memories from the others, so it’s an ongoing thing. Keeps it more exciting, yeah? Also, it was worse with Thor because of his age. Jo’s close to human; she might have an above average human lifespan, but it’s not like Logan’s. She’s still aging. Thor, however, is a thousand years old. I imagine that’s a lot of memories for someone with a human lifespan to absorb. If I had paid more attention in my science classes, I’d probably be able to explain better. 
> 
> I know I didn’t go into a lot of detail about the Winter Soldier events, but I imagine we’ve all seen the movie. (If you haven’t, stop reading and look it up right now. Seriously. Stop reading and watch _The Winter Soldier_. Not just for this story, but because it’s an amazing movie.) Parts of it will be rehashed as we continue on, and the very ending scene is different. They don’t all meet up at Fury’s grave, and Natasha doesn’t somehow have a psychical folder on the Winter Soldier. Steve’s still in the hospital, Fury’s still “dead”, and more will be explained in the next chapter. 
> 
> Remy came back! Briefly. With him, of course, was Anna Marie. Also known as Rogue. I thought about tempting to write her southern accent, since I’m a southerner myself, but my Alabama accent is a lot different than her Louisiana one. So, I’m sorry to all of the hardcore Rogue fans. Same for Remy. I just can’t do it.


	34. Same Old Same Old

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _and we’re slipping off the course that we prepared_
> 
> _but in all chaos there is calculation_
> 
> **Glory and Gore by Lorde**

“I hope Darcy and Pepper are okay.” Jo whispered it to Bruce, since they’re on the jet, and she felt his temple touch against hers. 

“I’m sure they are.”

“And Steve, Natasha, and Maria. I hope they’re okay too.” Her head is still pounding, because she tried to cram a thousand years’ worth of memories into her head in less than a day. She’s surprised that her brain hasn’t turned to mush. She tried to talk to Thor about some of the things she’d seen before they left, but the big guy just kinda waved her off. Said they’d both done things that they would rather forget, and she wasn’t going to push it. Still, she has memories of fighting in wars and so many other things that she doesn’t understand. Then again, it’s not her place to understand. She did what she did to keep Thor’s mind safe, and she’s completed that. 

“I’m sure they are.”

“And that new guy, Sam, and the girl, Skye.” Bruce lifted up, and she turned her head so that she could look up at him. She currently has her head on his shoulder, and she’s too comfy to move. 

“We’ll see them all soon. Try not to worry too much.” He pressed a kiss against her forehead, and she closed her eyes. Everything is going to be okay. They’re all alive, at least.

**September 10, 2014**

“Darcy!” Thor was the first one off the jet, and the god swung her up into his arms with a loud laugh. Darcy could hear Pepper and Tony talking quietly, and she caught a glimpse of them holding each other as Thor swung her around. She could also see Jo standing in front of Logan, and she had one arm wrapped around the mutant’s neck because she was holding Bruce’s hand with her other arm. When Thor sat her back on the ground, she noticed Clint and another woman. That must be Doreen; the newest member of the team.

“Hey, Clint.” She waved, but the archer walked forward and swept her up into a hug too. Once she was free from his arms, Jo and Tony were surrounding her. 

“Good to see you again, kid,” Tony whispered. 

“We missed you,” Jo whispered. Darcy tightened her arms around both of them and held on until her fingers went numb. Bruce and Pepper stepped up next to them once Jo and Tony were free, and Darcy could feel Thor and Clint on either side of her. Anna Marie and Remy came outside to join them then, and Jo hugged Anna Marie and thanked them both for helping out. Then came all of the introductions, which took all of five minutes. 

“I think it should just be me and Jo that go in,” Tony said eventually. Go in? To see Skye, right. 

“After that, me and Josie are headed to DC to pick up Steve and Nat. Everyone else can go back to the mansion,” Clint said. 

“Leavin’ so soon?” Anna Marie asked. Jo slung an arm around her shoulders and knocked their temples together. 

“We’ve got a big mess to clean up, but I’ll come visit once things calm down. And I better get an invitation.” 

“Well, duh, you’re the maid of honor,” Anna Marie said and lightly pulled on some hair that had come free from Jo’s braid. Those two really are like sisters. Darcy couldn’t picture it before, but she can see it now. 

“Mister Stark, Josephine?” Dr. McCoy was standing in the doorway to the little cabin, their safe house, and Jo and Tony straightened up. 

“We’re coming, Hank,” Jo said and looked over at Tony. He nodded, and they started up the steps. The three of them disappeared inside, and Darcy looked around at everyone left. She caught Clint’s eyes and smiled. 

“There’s someone inside waiting to see you too.” Yeah, Jade’s gonna be really happy to see her master again.

**.xXx.**

Skye tensed up a little when she heard footsteps approaching, and her numerous injuries did not thank her for the movement. Her entire midsection was throbbing with pain, but she heard the commotion outside. She knows what that means. The Avengers are back from wherever they’ve been, and she doesn’t want to be flat on her back when she meets her first Avenger. The door opened a moment later, and Dr. McCoy stepped inside. It’d taken a minute to get used to seeing the furry blue doctor, but he’s a nice guy. A woman came in behind him, and Skye quickly looked her over. She’s only an inch taller than Skye, but she’s got move curves. Skye can tell because the woman is wearing a pair of washed out denim skinny jeans and a purple tank top with Hulk’s face on it. Her brown hair is braided and hanging over her shoulder, and a pair of dark green eyes slowly looked her over. Skye didn’t recognize her, but there’s only one known female Avenger. Whoever this woman is, she isn’t Black Widow.

“Skye, I would like you to meet Josephine Holbrook and Tony Stark.” Tony Stark stepped into the room last, and he looks different than what Skye imagined. She was expecting the slicked back hair and perfectly tailored suits that were in all the magazines, but he looks like a normal guy. Six-one, so the tallest one in the room, and his brown eyes look almost soft. His dark brown hair is sticking up in a few places, and he’s wearing old jeans and a black Metallica tee shirt. 

“Just Jo, please,” the woman said and cut her eyes over at Dr. McCoy. The doctor, Darcy, Pepper, and Logan have been careful not to really say anything around her. So she has no idea who this woman is. 

“Hi,” Skye finally got out. Dr. McCoy smiled at her before leaving the room, and he closed the door behind him. Jo sat down in the chair next to her bed, and Tony moved to stand directly behind her. 

“I know all of this seems crazy, and I want to tell you everything. I can’t do that until I know you’re not going to hurt us.” Skye felt her eyebrows furrow at that, because why would she want to hurt them?

“The woman that left you at my front gate, Viper, she’s a sneaky one. We need to make sure that you’re not working for her,” Tony explained. Oh, so they think that she’s some kind of spy. It sounds a little reasonable. Being an Avenger must not be easy. 

“How can you know for sure?” she asked. They’re not going to just trust her. She can tell that Darcy wants to, but the other woman still hasn’t revealed anything about herself or anyone else. 

“Well, I’m a mutant. One of my mutations is telepathy. With your permission, I’ll read your mind to see what happened. I’ll be able to tell if Viper sent you.” Skye quickly thought it over and realized that she had no choice. 

“If I say no, that makes me look guilty. Okay, go ahead. Read my mind.” There’s three words she thought she’d never say. The woman reached forward, and warm hands gently cupped her right one. Her left hand is still a little useless, because of the hole in it. 

“Just try to relax. It’ll only take a few minutes.” The woman, Jo, closed her eyes and so did Tony. 

_She’s outside eating lunch when the woman joins her. She’s beautiful, and she knows things she shouldn’t. Like Skye’s real name. Then the bullets start flying._

_She’s running. She can’t stop running. Every time she stops, another bullet grazes her skin. Her shoulder has gone numb, but her leg screeches with pain with every step._

_When the sun is just starting to dip below the tallest buildings, she ducks into an alley. Closes her eyes as she leans against the dirty bricks and sucks in a deep breath. Her eyes open, and the woman is there again. Swearing, in Russian? Pain explodes above her left eye, and everything goes dark._

_The pain in her stomach wakes her up. That woman, the one who called herself Viper, is forcing nails through her shirt and skin. It hurts. She wants to move away, but she can’t. She can’t move. When the last nail goes in, the woman picks her up by her arm and tosses her out of the side of the van. Something in her side snaps and breathing becomes harder._

_Someone is leaning above her. Big blue eyes and pale pink lips. The woman is looking at her stomach. She can’t take the nails out; it hurts. She’ll bleed out. Her right hand reaches out to grab the front of the woman’s blouse as she yells for her to stop, and then those big blue eyes are looking right into hers. She knows something that Skye doesn’t._

_They keep her comfortable. Fed. Pain meds. Surgery for her punctured lung. Clean bandages for her gunshot wounds. They even put her under for the jet ride. She’s scared. Darcy and the doctor are nice to her, but she doesn’t know them. She wants to go home, but home isn’t safe anymore. She needs to disappear, to make sure that Viper can never find her again. Can never hurt her again._

“Skye?” She forced her eyes to open, and dark green eyes were staring directly into her own. 

“So, telepathy is definitely real,” she said and carefully nodded her head. She didn’t have a concussion, but her head definitely still hurts. 

“It’s real. I can’t tell you what to do, and none of us will hold you against your will. We can offer you a safe place to stay though. Stay with us at the mansion, heal, and let us try to find out why Viper targeted you. I promise you, we will keep you safe.” Jo spoke so slowly and quietly, because the words were just for Skye to hear, and she sounded so sincere. Jo doesn’t know her though, so why does she want to protect her so much?

“You don’t know me, so why help me?” She waited for Jo to answer, but it wasn’t the woman that spoke. 

“Because we’re the Avengers. It’s what we do,” Tony Stark said and shrugged. Like offering her protection was no big deal. 

“I’m free to go whenever I want?” she asked, to clarify. 

“Whenever you want,” Jo agreed and Tony nodded. 

“Then I guess staying with you is my best bet for now.” Jo clapped, and Tony rolled his eyes. Just who are these people again? Because clearly the news has been getting everything wrong. 

“We’ll be moving back to the mansion soon. Um, I’ll ask Darcy to keep an eye on you, okay?” Skye nodded, because she likes Darcy. The other woman has been nothing but nice to her, and maybe they’ll actually be able to talk now that everyone knows she’s not some kind of undercover agent. 

“Sounds good.” Jo smiled at her and stood up, and she rolled her shoulders to get the bones to pop. 

“Darcy! Clinton! Get in here!” A minute later, Darcy walked in with a man just behind her. Skye knows him. That’s the archer, Hawkeye. Wow, he looks even better in person. Slightly spiky light brown hair, eyes that seem to shift between all the prettiest colors, and his black sleeveless shirt is showing off some yummy arms. She might be confined to a hospital bed, but the pain meds help with the pain and her eyesight is just fine. No, wait, the archer is holding a chicken. She might be hallucinating. 

“Whattaya want, Josie?” Clint was lightly petting the chicken’s dark feathers, and Skye couldn’t look away from the sight. 

“We’re taking Tony’s jet to DC. Hank’s gonna fly everyone back to the mansion and then he’s going back home. Along with Anna Marie and Remy. Bruce is gonna take over medical care, Logan’s sticking around, and Darcy is going to keep Skye company. Maybe fill her in on everything?” Jo drawled out. 

“She cleared?” 

“With flying colors. I don’t know why Viper targeted her, but it wasn’t random. There’s a reason for this, and we’re going to figure out what.” Jo looked down at Skye as she said the last part, like she was making another promise, and Skye smiled back at her. She doesn’t know Jo, but she seems like an okay person. 

“Watch Jade for me?” Clint was looking at Darcy, and Darcy laughed as she took the chicken into her arms. 

“Of course. We’re old friends by now, aren’t we, girl?” The chicken seemed to love the attention Darcy was giving it, and Skye felt like her head was swimming. The Avengers might actually be crazy. 

“Come on, Clinton. We’ve got some friends to pick up.” Jo hooked an arm around Clint’s neck and drug him from the room, and Tony gave her one last smile before following after them. Darcy stayed in the room, and she sat down in the vacated chair at Skye’s bedside. She put the chicken in her lap. 

“Fill me in on what?” Skye asked after a moment. She’s always been a curious person. Darcy’s smile looked a little mischievous, and it was a good look on her. 

“Let’s start at the beginning, huh? So, I needed an internship and wound up working for this astrophysicist…”

**.xXx.**

Sam tensed up as the hospital door opened, and he made himself stay perfectly still as footsteps walked farther into the room. He peeked an eye open, but that’s not one of the nurses. The woman is wearing skinny jeans and a tank top, and her long hair is in a braid. She stopped at the foot of the bed for a moment and then moved over to Steve’s other side. He heard the quiet screech of the chair legs as she pulled it closer to the bed, and she sat down with a small sigh. He watched her hands reach out to take Steve’s, and he doesn’t remember Steve mentioning a special lady. He talked briefly about how his team was in another country and wouldn’t make it in time, but he didn’t name any of them. Sam knows he was talking about the Avengers, but he thought Natasha was the only female Avenger.

“Dammit, Steve, look at what he did to you. Was it worth it?” she whispered. Her voice was rough, like she’d spent the night before screaming at a concert. 

“Every last bit of it,” Steve answer. Huh, Sam didn’t know he was awake. The woman sighed louder, but she didn’t let go of his hand. 

“Tony told me what happened. Brainwashed by Hydra for the last seventy years? Steve, there’s probably nothing of him left.” She’s talking about Bucky; Steve must have told her about his old friend, because she actually sounds upset about the whole situation. 

“There is. Look and see. I trust you.”

“I don’t think I’m strong enough for that again. Thor nearly wiped me out for good.” It was said with a small laugh, and Sam felt his confusion grow. What are they talking about? And how is Thor involved?

“I thought it through. I’m vulnerable right now, and I trust you to keep me safe.”

“It’ll knock us both unconscious for a while. Clint knows where we are, but he won’t be here for a while.” Yeah, Steve’s a little banged up, but Sam wouldn’t say that he’s vulnerable. Definitely not vulnerable enough to do something that’s gonna knock him unconscious for a while. 

“We can trust Sam. He won’t let anything happen to us.” Even though his eyes were closed, he could feel the woman’s gaze on him. He held perfectly still, kept his breathing even, and heard the woman huff. 

“Just, don’t fight me, okay? It’ll only make things harder.”

After ten minutes of complete silence, Sam opened his eyes and leaned forward in his chair. The unnamed woman was leaning on the edge of her seat so that her head was next to Steve’s on the pillow, and their foreheads were lightly touching. She was still holding his left hand with both of hers, and tears had slipped from beneath their closed eyelids to track down their cheeks. Despite that, their faces were completely relaxed. Sam could almost believe they were sleeping, if it wasn’t for the crying. A little over an hour later, the woman hiccupped and blinked her eyes open. Steve’s eyes opened too, but they were both blind to Sam watching them. 

“You’re a good person, Jo. One of the best.” Steve’s smile was small and painful, and the woman’s laugh was wet. 

“We’ll get him back, Steve. We’ll get him back.” With that, her eyes closed and her body slumped against the side of the bed. 

“Sam? Can you move her onto the bed?” There’s no way he can say no to that voice, so he made his way over to the other side of the bed. The woman didn’t stir as he lifted her from the chair and laid her on the bed next to Steve, and Sam sat in the now empty chair. 

“You wanna tell me what the hell just happened?” 

“Jo’s a mutant, a telepath. There’s a woman after some of us that was able to get into Tony’s dream, so Jo has been creating mental links with everyone to keep our minds safe. We just created a mental link. She knows everything about me, and I know everything about her.” Steve’s voice was quiet, and Sam slowly shook his head. Just when he starts getting used to super soldiers, a telepath shows up. 

“So she’s one of the good guys, huh?” He can’t imagine what it must be like for someone to know every corner of your mind; it’s terrifying to think of. From what Steve just said, she’s already done this multiple times. It’s a miracle she hasn’t gone crazy. Vulnerable…Steve’s hurt physically, but he’s mentally vulnerable. Or, he was. 

“She is,” was the last thing Steve said before he passed out again. 

Sam sat next to them and read a book for the next three hours, which is when the hospital door opened again. Natasha walked in first, and Sam raised a hand in greeting. That is one tough woman, and he’s glad he’s on her good side. A man walked in behind her, and Sam raised a brow at Natasha. He doesn’t want to talk, since he’s right next to the sleeping duo, and Natasha and the other guy stopped at the foot of the bed. 

“Clint, Sam. What happened?” Natasha asked. 

“Some kind of mental link. You know about that?” Natasha looked over at Clint, and the guy just shrugged. 

“Jo’s better than Viper, and it looks like Steve agrees,” Clint said and crossed his arms. 

“Does someone wanna explain what’s going on?” Steve gave a very brief explanation, which raised more questions than it answered. 

“We’ll explain everything on the ride home.” At his confused look, Natasha let a small smile curve her lips. “Congratulations, you get to come to the Avengers Mansion.”

“Alright, what about them?” he asked and looked at the bed. 

“I’ll get Jo. You can have Cap,” Clint said and moved to where the woman was lying. Natasha helped Sam get Steve up, and the guy stayed unconscious. So did the woman. 

“Is this normal?” No one tried to stop them as they walked out of the hospital room, and he was only a little surprised when they headed towards the roof instead of the ground floor. 

“They just swapped brains. They’ll sleep for a while,” Clint said and adjusted Jo on his shoulder. A jet was waiting for them on the roof, and Clint strapped Jo onto a vertical table before going for the front of the jet. Him and Natasha strapped Steve in and then took their seats. Once they were in the air, Natasha started talking. About everything. Clint threw in a few comments, here and there, but it was mostly Natasha that explained everything that’s happened to the Avengers over the years. 

By the time they were landing on top of the Avengers Mansion, Sam was caught up. Steve and Jo were also starting to wake up, and Sam helped Steve stand up. 

“What have you gotten me into?” he asked as they staggered off the jet onto the roof. Jo was clinging to Clint’s back, while Natasha lectured her on overextending herself. 

“You can still back out.” Steve’s look was serious, and Sam shook his head with a smile. 

“And miss out on all the fun? Nah, I think I’ll stick around.”

**.xXx.**

“Bruce! Catch me!” Jo slipped off Clint’s back and into Bruce’s waiting arms, and she snuggled into his chest. Her brain feels almost too full, but she knows it’ll wear off soon. It always does. They’re all in the den, and it feels so good to have everyone under one roof again. Even with some extras thrown in. Everyone shuffled around and got comfortable, because they are way over due for a team meeting.

In the end, she wound up between Tony and Bruce. Pepper was sitting on Tony’s other side, and it was just the four of them on the couch. Doreen, Thor, Darcy, and Skye were on the other couch across from them. Steve and Sam were sitting on the loveseat. Clint was in one of the chairs, and Natasha was sitting on the arm of his chair. Logan was in the other chair, and he kept glaring over at her and Tony. When this is over, she’s gonna have a long talk with the older mutant. At least he’s not glaring at Bruce. 

“First order of business! New Avengers!” Tony called out. Jo’s pretty sure they have bigger things to worry about, like Hydra still being around and Viper lurking around them, but whatever. 

“I nominate Squirrel Girl!” Clint yelled. Doreen’s cheeks flushed a light pink, and Thor clapped a giant hand on her shoulder. 

“All in favor, say aye!” At Tony’s declaration, everyone in the room yelled an affirmative. Even Pepper and Darcy, who aren’t technically Avengers. Jo isn’t either, but she still called out her agreement. She’s pretty sure even Skye, who’s sitting stiffly in her seat because of her injuries, called out an aye. 

“I nominate Falcon!” Natasha yelled. Sam stood up and bowed, and everyone in the room screamed out another “aye.” She saw plenty of Sam in Steve’s memories, and she knows they can trust the man. He stood up for what he thought was right, followed Steve into a battle that he could have easily stepped away from, and she respects him. Also, he flies. It’s pretty awesome. 

“Welcome to the team,” Steve said and smiled over at Sam. He also waved at Doreen, who waved back before burying her face in her hands. It took a few minutes for the room to calm down, and Jo felt herself tense as everything slowly turned more serious. 

“Is everyone caught up on everything?” Tony looked around the room, and everyone slowly nodded. Hydra is back in a big way, which might explain Viper’s continued appearances. “Then what do we focus on first?”

“Fury and Hill will be here in a couple of days, to figure out where we go from here,” Natasha said. 

“What about our files? Is everything out in the open?” Jo asked and looked at Natasha. She knows that the woman did what she had to do, Hydra had to be exposed, but they’re all exposed now. None of them are really safe. 

“It’s encrypted, but yes. We’re all out in the open,” she said and looked around the room. 

“I’m working on getting our files down, but it’s slow moving,” Tony said and tapped his temple. Even now, in the back of his mind, he’s scouring databases. 

“I could help,” Skye said quietly. When Tony cocked his head, she huffed out a breath and carefully crossed her arms. “Not to brag or anything, but I’m a good hacker. I’m really good at removing things, and I want to help. As a thank-you, for taking me in.”

“I’ll get you set up, but everything you do will be monitored.” Tony wasn’t saying it because he doesn’t trust her, they both saw her memories earlier, but he wants her to know that he’ll be watching. 

“I’ll behave,” Skye said with a sweet smile. Ooh, another snarky one. She’ll fit right in. 

“What are we going to do about Viper?” Darcy asked. Skye and Logan both tensed up at the question, and Jo knows that Logan and Viper have a long history. It’s not a good one either. 

“Tracking her is usually impossible, but we can’t let her just get away with all of this,” Clint said. 

“I’m more worried about who she’s working with.” Jo looked around the room to see if anyone had any ideas, but she just got blank stares. 

“I want to do one of the mental links. I don’t want anyone using me to get to Tony,” Pepper said and leaned forward to look her in the eye. 

“Yeah, I don’t want Viper anywhere near my head ever again,” Darcy added. 

“If you guys think I’m really in danger of being mind controlled, I’m up for it,” Sam said and aimed a look right at her. 

“I don’t want you in my head, but you are a better choice than Viper. Or whoever is working with her.” Jo nearly passed out at that, because she never thought that Natasha would allow her into her head. The one time Jo ever tried, back when she’d first gotten the telepathy, Natasha shot her. In the head. 

“Alright, I’ll do the last of the mental links tomorrow. Is there anything else we need to go over tonight?” Jo asked. It’s been such a long day, such a long week, and she’s ready to collapse into her own bed with Bruce. 

“I think everything else can wait until we rest up some. We’ll figure out our next steps when Fury and Hill get here. Sam, Doreen, Skye, you’ve got rooms to choose from on the third floor. Darcy can show you the way.” Darcy nodded and stood up, and everyone else slowly started to move around. She felt Bruce squeeze her hand, and she looked over to meet his eyes. 

“I want to help Skye to her room and get a few things set up for her. Meet you in your room later?” She nodded, and Bruce placed a quick kiss against her lips before standing up and moving over to where Skye was leaning on Darcy. Jo said a quick goodnight to Tony and Pepper, and she turned around just in time to see Logan walking up to her. 

“I’m thirsty. You?” She grabbed his hand and pulled him from the room, and she didn’t let go until they were in the kitchen. She pulled out a bottle of water and drank nearly half of it before setting it down on the counter. For a moment, she thought Logan was going to yell at her for being reckless or for getting herself involved in something so dangerous. He definitely had his “yelling” face on. Instead, he wrapped both arms around her shoulders and pulled her to him. She pressed her cheek against his chest and wrapped her arms around his back, and it felt good to just lean against him. 

“You’re doing too much, Jo,” he said quietly. She felt one of his hands move up to press against the back of her head, and she sighed against the feeling of his fingertips on her scalp. 

“I can feel them, all of them, at the back of my mind. Like little doors. They’re shut, so I can’t hear or see anything, but I can feel them. I know that they’re safe.” Each one of them feels different, but the overall feeling is the same. If one of them called out for her, she’d be able to hear them because they’re always going to be with her now. 

“Have you thought about what will happen when they’re not safe? If they get hurt, so do you.” Maybe not physically, but mentally? Yeah, she might be screwed, but they’re going to keep each other safe. She’s sure of it. 

“We’re a family, Logan. Family protects each other. You taught me that.” She tipped her head back to look at him, and dark brown eyes stared down into hers. He’s worried about her, but he shouldn’t be. Things are a little bleak right now, but they’ll be okay. 

“Did I?” He’s smiling, so that’s a good sign. She lightly butted her head against his chest and grinned up at him. 

“Yeah, you did. Will you stay for a little while? I think Steve would like to talk to you.” She saw Logan in Steve’s memories too, and that was a little surreal. Her team leader and her father figure fighting off Nazis isn’t something she thought she’d ever get to see, but it happened. 

“I’ve been meanin’ to talk to Rogers.” He scratched at the scruff on his cheek, and she leaned up on her toes to press a kiss against his cheek. 

“Good, and be nice to everyone. Especially Tony and Bruce.” Logan grumbled but agreed, and she laughed as she pulled him towards the elevator. He got off on the third floor, and Jo continued up to her floor. Bruce was already waiting for her in her bedroom, and he returned her tired smile. 

“It’s good to be home,” he whispered into her hair once they were lying down. 

“Mmm, it really is,” she agreed and let herself fall to sleep.

**.xXx.**

Skye woke up as her door creaked open, and she struggled to lift her upper body. She managed to reach out and turn on the lamp on her bedside table, and she saw Darcy. The other woman was wearing a pair of blue shorty shorts and a white tank top, and her hair was hanging behind her in a sloppy ponytail. She had clearly just gotten out of bed, and Skye rubbed at her eyes.

“Darcy? Something wrong?” The other girl told her literally everything that’s happened, from the time that she worked with Jane Foster to coming to work for Tony Stark. Well, now she works for Pepper Potts. These people have become her family, which is a big thing for a foster kid. Skye would know. For the longest time, all she ever wanted was a family. Darcy talked like it was possible. 

“I wanted to avoid doing the same old-same old, but you’re not giving me a choice.” Darcy’s voice sounded off, like there was some kind of echo behind it, and her eyes are way too dark. 

“What are you talking about?” Darcy was nearly to the edge of her bed now, and Skye felt something at the base of her spine tingle. 

“I’m talking about you. You haven’t even healed a little bit.” Darcy leaned forward and pushed the heel of her hand against Skye’s left shoulder, and Skye screamed as the stitches holding her skin together ripped. Darcy crawled up onto the bed and straddled her, and she moved her now bloody hand to press against her left ribcage. It felt like the bones of her broken rib were grating together, and she tried to push Darcy off. 

“Darcy! Stop it! Get off!” Knuckles slammed against her cheek as Darcy backhanded her, and her breath was cut off as slim fingers wrapped around her throat. 

“Sorry, Daisy, but Darcy isn’t here right now.” The words were whispered, and Skye thought she saw Darcy’s eyes flash green for a second. Daisy…the only person who’s called her that is Viper. So, that means…

“How’d you do it, Viper?” It was hard to talk, since a hand was cutting off her airway, but she managed. 

“Friends in high places. I was hoping you’d heal faster, but it looks like I’ll have to do something drastic. Again. I really hate being repetitive.” The hand on her throat was removed, and Darcy’s body slowly sat up. She reached behind her, and that’s when Skye sucked in a deep breath. 

“HELP! IT’S VIPER! SHE’S GOT DARCY!” A hand slapped against her mouth, but it was too late. Skye could hear running footsteps, and her door slammed open a second later. Darcy’s head turned at the same time that she moved her arm back to the front of her body, and Skye’s eyes went wide at the sight of the gun. The barrel pressed against the center of her forehead, and she moved her eyes over to the doorway. 

“Viper, don’t.” Logan’s voice was all growl, enough to make goosebumps raise across Skye’s skin, but there’s no way he can reach them before the trigger is pulled. She’s going to die. 

“Oh, Logan, why would I do that?” Her hand was steady, and the smile on Darcy’s face wasn’t one of Darcy’s. Skye fought to lock eyes with Logan, and he finally met her eyes. 

“Tell Darcy it’s not her fault,” was all she was able to get out before the gun fired.

**.xXx.**

She woke up to JARVIS announcing an emergency, and she was able to connect with Tony’s mind to get a visual. Darcy was in Skye’s room, straddling the injured girl, and the gun that Jo gave to Darcy all those months ago was pressed against Skye’s forehead. Jo was moving before she could explain to Bruce what was happening, and it felt like the elevator was moving through mud. She was running as soon as the doors opened, and she had to push past everyone. She couldn’t even tell who she was pushing to the side, until she reached Skye’s doorway. Logan was holding Darcy’s biceps and holding her in the air, and the laugh coming out of Darcy’s throat sounded insane. She had blood on her hands and streaked across her clothes, and Skye wasn’t moving.

“Give her to me.” Logan released Darcy, and Jo locked her arms around her thrashing body. Her arms pinned Darcy’s arms to her sides, and she pressed her forehead against Darcy’s. 

“You’re too late, Josephine! Couldn’t save ‘em all!”

_“When I find you, I’m gonna rip you apart!”_ She could feel Viper in every corner of Darcy’s mind; she couldn’t feel Darcy anywhere. Jo knew she had to force Viper out, but she couldn’t think of how. Especially since she doesn’t know how Viper was able to get into Darcy’s mind in the first place. 

_“What’s the matter, tank? It’s not so easy to win when you can’t just snap the enemy’s neck, huh?”_ She could hear Viper laughing, taunting her, and she tried to push deeper. Past the green fog that was completely clouding Darcy’s mind. Deeper, deeper, deeper…Eventually, she found Darcy. Starting at her youngest memories, of being alone despite living in a house full of kids. Always being alone. 

Viper faded as Jo absorbed more of Darcy’s memories, and she realized that she was creating a mental link. She’d latched on to what she could find of Darcy and pulled her into her own mind, so now she’s seeing all of Darcy’s memories. The mental link was driving Viper out, until the woman was completely gone. The link wasn’t complete though, so Jo held on. She has to finish this and keep Darcy safe.

**.xXx.**

Bruce walked into chaos. Everyone in the mansion was on the third floor, but only three people were inside of Skye’s room. Four, if you counted Skye herself. Logan was sitting outside of the doorway, knees pulled up and head in his hands. Thor was sitting across from him, and it looked like the two of them were guarding the doorway. Bruce stepped past them and into the room, and Tony looked up as he walked into the room. He was standing next to Skye’s bed, and the girl was slightly propped up against the headboard. Jo and Darcy were lying on the floor at the foot of the bed, and Darcy was covered in blood. Skye’s blood.

“Viper took control of Darcy. Skye didn’t stand a chance against Darcy’s strength,” Tony said. He quickly went over what Viper had said before shooting Skye, and Bruce met Tony’s eyes. 

“You think it’s the same?” Bruce asked. 

“Same old same old,” Tony parroted. 

“Do you think they could be?” He moved to stand next to Tony and looked down at Skye, and it was hard to look at the young woman while she was still covered in blood. There was even a smear of it across her forehead. 

“I’ll get JARVIS to run it and see,” Tony whispered. Bruce leaned forward and raised Skye’s left hand, and he carefully peeled back the gauze. The hole in her palm was already closed. 

“We should get them cleaned up. They don’t need to wake up to this,” he said and looked around the room. 

“Pretty sure Jo’s doing a mental link. That’ll take a while,” Tony said and looked at the two of them. Jo had her arms wrapped completely around Darcy, and Darcy looked far too pale. 

“Doreen? Natasha?” The two women stepped into the room, and Doreen looked like she was going to be sick. 

“Is she…?” Doreen couldn’t even finish the sentence, and Natasha wouldn’t look at the bed. 

“Viper got in Darcy’s head and made her do this. Skye’s already starting to heal.” Both women looked shocked at that, but Bruce is starting to put the pieces together. 

“Doreen, can you take Jo and Darcy up to Jo’s room? Maybe get Darcy a change of clothes?” Bruce asked. The shorter woman nodded jerkily and moved over to where the two were lying. 

“You can count on me,” she said and bent down. She managed to get each woman over a shoulder, which Bruce didn’t even know was possible, and he turned to watch her walk away. Once she was gone, Bruce turned to look at Natasha. 

“I’ll get her cleaned up and make sure she doesn’t wake up alone,” she said quietly. She carefully picked up Skye’s body, and the woman looked too limp in Natasha’s arms. Natasha walked off, and Tony rubbed the back of his neck. 

“JARVIS, do we have any spare sheets nearby?” Skye’s bed is splattered with blood, and there’s a bullet embedded in the headboard. 

“In the closet, sir. I’ll put in an order for a new headboard immediately.” Tony thanked the AI and moved over to the closet, and it only took him and Bruce a few minutes to remake the bed. 

“Meet in your lab in five?” Bruce nodded, and he managed not to make eye contact with anyone as he walked back to the elevator. Tony can choose how to answer their questions, or not answer them as he probably will. They need to be sure first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, I know what some of you are probably thinking. _Could she be any less imaginative?_ I just need some trust and a few chapters, several chapters, and I promise that I’ll show you that not everything is as it seems. Don’t take anything at face-value. Everyone is under a lot of stress, a lot of pressure, and sometimes small details slip through the cracks. Especially when you already think that you have all the answers. So, trust me on this. 
> 
> I think that’s all I really wanted to say. If there’s any questions about anything, I’d be happy to answer them!


	35. Click

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _well my heart is gold_
> 
> _and my hands are cold_
> 
> **Gasoline by Halsey**

**September 11, 2014**

Doreen sat up a little straighter at the quiet knock, and she shuffled her feet as she made her way over to the door. She’s exhausted, but she didn’t want to sleep while looking over Darcy and Jo. She’d cleaned up Darcy and put the girl in some of Jo’s clothes, and she’d carefully washed all the blood off her skin. She doesn’t really know Darcy, but she saw the girl in Jo’s memories and Thor’s told her stories. She knows that Darcy is a strong and sweet young woman, and Doreen really hopes that she can’t remember what Viper did with her body.

“Oh, hey, Thor,” she said between yawns. The god was standing on the other side of the door, and he looked dressed for the day. Jeans and a plain white tee shirt, but his feet were bare. His hair was also put back into a neat little bun, which is something that Darcy taught him how to do. 

“How are they?” She gestured for him to come inside, and she shuffled back towards Jo’s bed. The two women were stretched out across it, still unconscious, and Doreen climbed up on the bed next to Jo’s side. Thor moved around the bed to sit next to Darcy, and he gently smoothed some dark hair away from her face. 

“They’ve been completely still, but I think the mental link worked. They should wake up soon,” she said and continued to watch them. Bruce stopped by, maybe a couple of hours ago, to check on them. The way he looked at Jo was sweet, even when he was clearly worried about her and Darcy. Tony came in a few minutes later, and he took turns kissing them on the forehead before walking out. This team really is like a family, which is why she knows they’ll pull through this. 

“I hope Darcy has no memory of last night,” Thor said quietly. 

“Yeah, me too. How is Skye?”

“Unconscious but healed.” It’s a weird situation, but it’s a familiar one. It’s the same thing that happened to Darcy. Is that what the two scientists are checking on? Do they think that Skye had a repressed mutant gene too? It’s rare, but it happens. 

“This whole situation is just weird,” Doreen huffed. She’s never liked the sneaky types, and that’s exactly what kind of person Viper is. She can’t fight them head-on, so she’s using underhanded methods to mess with them. 

“What the—Who the—Thor?” Darcy was looking around the room in confusion, and Doreen saw the moment that recognition dawned in her pretty blue eyes. Her lips began to tremble, and she raised her hands up to her cheeks. “I shot…I shot…I shot Skye!”

“It was not you, Darcy.” At Darcy’s loud cry, Jo shot up with her fists up. That’s interesting. Darcy was already crying against Thor’s chest, and the god had his arms wrapped around her back. He was lightly rocking her back and forth, and Doreen could hear him murmuring into her hair. Jo leaned forward and pressed her forehead against Darcy’s back, right between her shoulder blades, and Doreen could barely hear Jo when she spoke. 

“What happened was Viper’s fault. Skye knows that. She’s also going to be just fine, okay?” Darcy flapped a hand behind her until Jo grabbed it, and Jo pressed her lips to Darcy’s palm. 

“All your memories, I saw everything. You saw everything.” Darcy’s voice sounded wrecked, so much so that she almost sounded like Jo. 

“I had to create a link to get Viper out. She’ll never hurt you like that again. I promise you, Darcy.” Darcy sobbed something out, which might have been a thank-you, and Jo leaned up to press a kiss against the back of Darcy’s head. “Stay here with Thor and rest. I’ll come get you when I know more.”

“Thank you, Jo, Doreen.” Jo nodded at Thor, and Doreen waved to him as she followed Jo out of the room. Once the bedroom door was closed behind them, Jo sighed and crossed her arms. She’s still in her pajamas, which look like Tony’s pajamas, but her eyes are clear. 

“Thanks for everything, Doreen. Go get some rest, okay?”

“Come get me if you need me.” Jo nodded and smiled at her, and Doreen made her way back to the third floor. It was mostly empty, except for one lone mutant sitting on one of the couches. Instead of moving over to her room, she collapsed onto the couch next to him and kicked her feet up on the coffee table. 

“Jo and Darcy?” His voice was just as gruff as always, but she didn’t tease him because it was a very long night. 

“Jo’s okay. She’s going to check in with the scientists now. At least, I’m assuming that’s what she’s doing. Darcy’s with Thor.” Listening to the girl cry had made her heart hurt, so she can’t imagine what it was like for Thor to hear her cry. 

“Darcy, she’s a good kid,” Logan said after a beat of silence. That’s high praise coming from him. 

“Yeah, she is. I can see why Jo cares about her as much as she does,” Doreen said and placed a hand on Logan’s shoulder. He looked over at her, and she lightly squeezed his shoulder before getting to her feet. “Everything’s going to be fine, so stop worrying before that wrinkle between your eyes becomes permanent.”

“Don’t remember asking for your opinion,” he grumbled out. 

“Just be happy I’m not charging you for it.” She called out a goodnight before walking away, and she collapsed against her bed a moment later. She’s still in her pajamas from last night, so she wiggled around until she was under the covers. She was asleep in minutes.

**.xXx.**

“Alright, boys, what do we know?” Bruce and Tony both jumped before turning to look at her, and Jo propped her fists on her hips. What happened last night never should have happened, but there’s no going back. The only thing they can do now is figure out just what the hell happened.

“We know…everything,” Bruce said and carefully met her eyes. He’s wringing his hands, and that’s something he only does when he’s nervous. 

“Jo, I need you to get Darcy and Skye in here. Logan too.” She tilted her head at that and thought about knocking on Tony’s door to figure out what he knows, but she can be patient. 

“I can do that. Will the explanation take long? I need to protect Sam, Pepper, and Natasha as soon as possible.” Viper got to Darcy last night, so Jo’s thinking that she can only get into someone’s mind when they’re unconscious. She doesn’t want to give Viper any more chances to hurt them. 

“Not long. Bruce is going to tell the others.” Bruce nodded at that, so that might explain his nervousness. Despite everything, he still feels a little off in crowds. She walked farther into the lab and gently laced her fingers through Bruce’s. 

“Let’s get going then, hmm?” They waved to Tony, and they went to the fifth floor first. JARVIS was informing everyone to meet in the den, so they met the three occupants of the fifth floor as soon as the door opened. Jo met Clint’s eyes first, and her old friend looks worried. Understandable. 

“How’s Darcy?” Clint asked as soon as they stepped off the elevator. 

“I left her with Thor, but I think she’ll be okay. I was able to finish the mental link, so she’s safe now. Skye? How are you doing?”

**.xXx.**

“Skye? How are you doing?” Jo’s dark green eyes definitely looked worried, and Skye tried to push down the anger building in her chest. She woke up in Natasha’s bed, which should be impossible. She was shot in the head by Viper, who was controlling Darcy’s body. Jo promised her that she’d be safe here at the mansion, but she nearly died. She should be dead! When she came to, Natasha wouldn’t tell her anything. Just that Tony and Bruce were working on it. Nothing is making any sense, and she _hates_ being left out of the loop. Especially when it’s about her.

“Wondering how I’m alive, for one.” Jo’s eyes flicked down and to the side, but she was looking up again in seconds. 

“I’m sorry that happened to you. That we let it happen.”

“It?! It?! I was shot in the head!” Jo’s lips parted, but the only sound that came out was a quick yelp. Blood streaked down the center of her forehead and onto her nose, and there was a little bit of blood on the elevator doors behind her head. Instead of dropping to the ground, Jo lifted a hand and pressed it against the side of her head. 

“Really, Natasha?” she groaned out. Skye looked at the redhead standing next to her, but she can’t even see the gun. Did Natasha pull it out, shoot, and then re-holster it that fast?

“Now you’re even,” Natasha shrugged. Jo used the bottom of her black tee shirt to wipe the blood from her nose and her forehead, and Skye noticed that Bruce’s eyes were shifting between brown and a bright green. Because his alter ego is the Hulk. 

“Right, even. Don’t worry, Hulkster, that’s how Natasha says hello.” Jo reached up to rub the back of Bruce’s head as she spoke, and Bruce’s whole face was awash in green for a second. When his eyes opened again, they were brown. 

“You shot her in the head?!” Skye’s voice was a little higher than normal, but she just saw someone get shot in the head. And Jo’s acting like it’s a normal thing. 

“You get used to it,” Jo shrugged. How can Jo and Natasha be so calm about this? “Tony and Bruce figured something out, but Tony wants you and Darcy both in the lab. Are you okay with that?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Jo rubbed the center of her forehead, which was perfectly healed, and it clicked. 

"Because Darcy—”

“Darcy’s not the one who hurt me. Viper is.” Jo smiled at her answer, and Skye rolled her eyes as the elevator doors opened. Thor was standing in the open space, and he leaned around to look at all of them. 

“Darcy is waiting for you upstairs.” The god looked solemn, but Darcy told her that she was really close to Thor. She said she looked up to him as an older brother. 

“You guys go on down,” Jo said and nodded at Natasha. 

“Mind melding later?” Natasha asked as she walked by. 

“I’ve got you scheduled right after Pepper and Sam.” Jo leaned up on her toes to kiss Bruce’s cheek, and she waved until the elevator doors closed. Once they were closed, those dark green eyes moved back to her. “It’s okay to be angry with me. With all of us. We promised you protection, and we failed.”

“I want to be angry, I am a little angry, but I know it wasn’t your fault. No one was expecting Viper to attack that way, but it still sucks. Yeah, all of my boo-boos are gone now, but none of it makes any sense. I’m kind of freaking out here.” The doors opened again, and she followed Jo inside. 

“I wish I could tell you that everything’s going to be okay, but I don’t know if it will be. I’m not going to make any more promises, except for one. I’ll do my best to make sure you stay safe, and I’ll always be here if you need anything.” 

“Still don’t get why,” she mumbled as the elevator moved up. 

“Because from what I can tell, you’ve got no one. Everyone needs someone.” The woman turned to meet her eyes, and Skye could see something familiar reflected in them. 

“You were alone.” The elevator doors were open, but neither one of them moved. 

“I was, by choice. It took a long time, but I have a family again. It’s something I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. You can have that too, if you want.” Jo stepped out of the elevator and moved to the right, and Skye numbly followed after her. This has been the weirdest couple of days of her life, and she has a feeling that it’s only going to get weirder. 

“Skye! Oh my Thor, I thought you were, but you’re not, and I’m so sorry,” Darcy rambled out as soon as they walked into the…lab. Yeah, this is definitely a lab. Darcy already had tears in her eyes, and Skye felt her own tear ducts start burning. She opened her arms without really thinking it through, and Darcy hugged her so hard that it was closer to being tackled. They both cried as they clung to each other, and Skye assured Darcy that she had nothing to be sorry for. What happened, that was completely on Viper. 

“Sorry to break this up, but we’ve got some revelations to uncover.” Tony’s voice was a lazy drawl, but he was looking at them both with worried eyes. Darcy wiped her cheeks with her hands, and Skye used the bottom of her borrowed tee shirt to clean her face. 

“Come on girls, this way,” Jo said and led them over to a couch. Darcy and Skye sat next to each other, and Jo sat down on the other side of Darcy. Logan, who Skye hadn’t first noticed when she walked in, was sitting on the arm of the couch next to Jo. Tony was the only one standing, and he clapped his hands to get their attention. 

“With the help of Professor’s Xavier’s files, some of the files dumped from the SHIELD and Hydra databases, and good ol’ fashioned detective work, I’ve pieced together what happened.” Tony was grinning like a five year old, which was a little unsettling since this obviously concerns her life. 

“Tony, get to the good stuff,” Jo said and waved her hand to get him to move along. He snapped his fingers, and a picture of a beautiful woman appeared in the air. Holograms, awesome. She had long brown hair, slightly wavy, and blue eyes. Logan sat forward a little, but Skye didn’t recognize the woman. 

“This is Kayla Kent, in 1974. She gave birth to a single child, a daughter, this same year. Maria Kent.” Another image took Kayla’s place, and Maria looked nearly identical to her mother. The only difference was that her eyes were brown. 

“Kent?” Darcy’s voice sounded strained, but Skye couldn’t look away from the picture. The woman almost looked familiar, like a long forgotten memory. 

“Maria Kent had a brief affair with Calvin Zabo when she was seventeen. Zabo also goes by the name of Mister Hyde. He was hidden in one of Hydra’s files. Originally human, he experimented on himself until he successfully altered his DNA. This was before Maria; his DNA was already unstable when he met her. Two months after discovering she was pregnant, she saw Zabo turn into Mister Hyde. He was taken into custody by SHIELD, or, Hydra. Maria was only seventeen and on her own, so she sent her children away.”

“Children?” Skye asked. She thought they were going over her history. Tony snapped again, and two pictures from security cameras appeared. The one on the left was from New York; there was a woman standing in front of a basket at the back of a hospital. The picture was blown up to show the small note attached to the baby’s blanket, _Darcy Kent_. The one on the right was from New Jersey; again, there was a woman standing in front of a basket behind a hospital. This picture was blown up too, and the note attached to the baby’s blanket just said _Daisy K_.

“The nurses at the New York hospital changed the name on the birth certificate to Darcy Kent Lewis. The nurses at the New Jersey hospital changed the name on the birth certificate to Daisy Kay Johnson. You are the twin daughters of Maria Kent and Calvin Zabo,” Tony said and spread his arms. Skye slowly turned to look next to her, and Darcy looked just as freaked out as she felt. 

“Twins,” they mumbled at the same time. Great, now they’re starting to sound like twins. 

“Wait, so, it was Zabo’s unstable DNA that gave us a mutant gene?” Skye asked. She was trying really hard not to think about her father being some kind of crazy mad scientist that worked for Hydra, but it was kinda hard not to. 

“And what happened to Maria?” Darcy asked. What happened to their mother?

“Maria Kent died not even a whole week after you were born. The death certificate just states it as an accidental death. Zabo may be the reason that your mutant gene was repressed and only came out when you were fatally wounded. Your actual mutant gene comes from your grandfather.” Tony looked away from them and to the side, and Skye followed his line of sight. Straight to Logan. “I checked the DNA. Genetically, you’re the grandfather of Skye and Darcy.”

“I didn’t…I didn’t know. Maria left me; I woke up one day, and she was just gone. I lost my memories a few years later. I never knew she had a daughter. That I had a daughter.”

“And now you’ve got two granddaughters. Explains why Darcy’s healing is faster than mine, and why she’s stronger,” Jo said and nudged his knee. The older mutant looked like he might actually faint, and she’s a mutant. She’s a mutant, because her father was a mutant and her grandfather was a mutant. 

“Zabo is still unaccounted for, but I don’t think he knows about either of you,” Tony said and pointed between her and Darcy. Her and her twin. She has family alive. Real, same blood and all, family. 

“Well, I’ve got some mental links to build, so why don’t you three get to know each other better? Tony, escort me to Pepper,” Jo said and flowed to her feet. Skye almost called out for them to come back, because this is an insanely weird situation that she is in no way prepared for. 

“So, uh, do we call you Grandpa now? Gramps?” Darcy asked. Logan’s eyes narrowed, and his eyes are the same shade as hers. The same shade as Maria’s. Darcy has Kayla’s eyes. They both have their grandmother’s, and their mother’s, hair. 

“Logan’s fine.” This is going to be a long day.

**.xXx.**

“How did you survive here surrounded by all…this?” Doreen laughed at Skye’s question, and Darcy shrugged. Bruce filled them all in, and it’s quite a doozy. Logan’s got two granddaughters, twins. Fraternal, obviously, but still.

“It hasn’t been easy, but I’ve got no complaints,” Darcy said and smiled over at Skye. Doreen’s glad that the two of them are bonding. Logan is currently squaring off against Hulk and Steve in the corner of the giant gym, but that’s how he works through his feelings. In the middle of the room, Sam and Clint are teamed up against Thor. Tony and Natasha are sparring on the other side of the gym, and Doreen has a front row seat with the twins. 

“You’ve got to have a favorite though, right?” Doreen whispered. Darcy has spent more time with the Avengers, she’s lived with them, so she has to have a favorite. Especially if they always spar shirtless. (Natasha is wearing a sports bra and a small pair of shorts. The rest of the guys are just in shorts, except for Clint and Tony, but their shirts are at least sleeveless.)

“Do you?” Darcy shot back. The girl’s cheeks are a little pink though, so Doreen’s not far off. 

“They’re all just so…ripped,” Skye sighed.

“Probably, no, definitely Thor. I think it’s the hair,” Doreen said and grinned over at Darcy’s shocked face. She knows the two are close, so she was expecting a fun reaction. 

“Well, uh, Clint’s got really nice arms?” Darcy’s voice went up at the end, almost like she was asking a question, and Doreen found it adorable. Skye obviously found it hilarious, because she just started laughing. 

“I don’t know how any of you can choose a favorite,” Skye said once the laughter died out. 

“That’s easy.” All three sitting woman looked over at the sound of the rough voice, and a dark green eye winked at them. “HULKSTER FOR THE WIN!”

“Yeah, yeah, we know you like the big green one the bestest,” Doreen said with a smile. Seriously, Jo and Bruce could be the cutest when they thought no one was looking. It was all of the small touches and shy smiles. 

“You alright, hot mama?” Jo raised a brow at Darcy’s question, but Doreen was tempted to ask the same question. Without the little endearment at the end. Jo’s normally tanned skin is looking pale, and those bags are under her eyes again. 

“Hot mama?” She’s avoiding the question, because the Tank knows that she’s running herself into the ground. She’s doing it to keep them all safe though, and Doreen can respect that. 

“The way I see it, nothing’s changed. If anything, it makes even more sense. Logan’s like your father, and he’s my actual grandfather. Means I’m still the lovechild of the Tank and Ironman.” Jo grinned at that, and she looked a little more like herself. 

“And don’t you forget it, kid.” Jo looked away from them as Hulk joined them, and the woman actually squealed a little as Hulk lifted her into the air and dropped her on his shoulder. 

“You okay?” Hulk’s voice was deeper than anything Doreen has ever heard; she could literally feel the rumble somewhere behind her sternum as he spoke, but Jo looked perfectly content on his shoulder. 

“Yeah, I’m good. I’m just here to borrow Sam for a little while.” She twirled her fingers around Hulk’s curly hair, and Doreen noticed Sam and Tony headed straight for them. 

“Where’s Pepper?” Tony sounded a little breathless, but he’s lucky to be alive. The man was sparring against Black Widow, who is just as graceful and deadly as all the rumors said she was. 

“Still asleep. Wouldn’t hurt for her to see a familiar face when she wakes up,” Jo said with a pointed look. Tony nodded and jogged off, and Doreen mourned the loss. Yeah, Tony’s taken and she’d never actually make a move on the man, but he’s still pretty. 

“You ready for me?” Sam asked. He looked a little skeptical, and Doreen wasn’t sure if it was because a virtual stranger was about to be in his head or if it was because Jo looked like death warmed over. 

“Yeah, I’m ready. Gotta finish up before bedtime. Pretty sure Viper can only strike when someone’s unconscious. Let me down, big guy?” Hulk made a huffing noise, but he carefully scooped Jo up and placed her back on the ground. She smacked a kiss somewhere below his elbow, and Hulk moved back to where Steve and Logan were still sparring. 

“I’ll take over for Sam!” Doreen looked up to watch Natasha stand next to Clint, and the two assassins fist bumped before turning to grin up at Thor. Well, this should be an interesting matchup. 

“Hey, Jo?” Doreen looked away from the amazing sight of Natasha choking Thor with her thighs to see Skye looking up at Jo, and she noticed the way that Jo was leaning against the wall. Like just standing was taking too much out of her. 

“Yeah, kid?” Jo’s eyes widened as the second word slipped out, but it looks like her mind has already accepted Skye as another part of the family. 

“After Sam, can you do a mental link with me too? I don’t want Viper anywhere near me.” Jo’s smile was tired but genuine, and Doreen had to bite her tongue. Jo could barely handle doing two mental links in a day, and now she’s going to do four?

“You got it. See you in a few hours.” Sam raised his arm, like a gentleman offering his arm to a lady, and Jo laughed as she hooked her arm around his. Doreen was glad, because she’s not sure her fellow mutant would’ve been able to walk off otherwise.

**.xXx.**

“I’m so sorry, Tony. I didn’t know it would get that bad. I’m so sorry.” Pepper kept whispering those three sentences over and over, and Tony tightened his arms around her shaking body. His memories may have their own separate little world inside of Jo’s head, but Jo still has memories of him. He didn’t even think about the fact that Pepper would see what happened after she left.

“We both know it wasn’t your fault. That was all me,” he whispered into her hair. She saw him wasted away into nothing after drinking for a few months straight, saw how Jo was able to snap him out of it, and she saw the Arctic Balls Incident. 

“I knew there was a reason for how close you two were, I knew that she saved you, but I didn’t know…Oh, Tony, I’m so sorry.” He hated hearing her cry, hated that she was crying because of him, but he didn’t know what to do. Didn’t know what to say to make it better. 

“I’m okay now. What happened was bad, but I’m okay now. I’m better than okay.” Pepper finally pulled away from his chest to look up at him, and her pretty blue eyes were surrounded by broken blood vessels. 

“You made her better too, you know. You both needed each other, and I am so happy that you found each other. You both deserve to be loved like that, and I promise that I will never get between the two of you.” So Pepper really got it now. That the way he loved Jo was completely different from the way he loved her.

“I know,” was all he could think to say. Pepper fell back against him with a sound that was mixed between a sob and a laugh, and Tony just held onto her.

**.xXx.**

“Thor’s glorious hair, could you be a better man, Wilson? You’re making all the other humans look bad.” Jo was lying flat on her back on Sam’s bed, and her legs were thrown over his because he was lying crossways on the bed.

“Could you be more of a badass? Tank?” She huffed out a laugh at that, because she could tell that he was going for humor instead of bringing up all the horrible parts of her past. 

“I’m serious, Sam. You are one good human being. Definitely one of the best.” He grew up in a normal family, and he wanted to give back to his country. Joined the Air Force, did two tours as a paratrooper, and only retired after watching one of his friends die. Then the man went on to assist veterans suffering with PTSD, and he helped Steve and Natasha without a second thought. 

“I’m sorry you had to meet some of the worst humans.” She twisted her head to the side and met Sam’s dark eyes, and he really was genuinely sorry for what she went through. “Also, I’ve got a whole new respect for Tony Stark.”

“Yeah, he’s a strange man, but he’s one of the good humans too.” Sam smiled, and she felt herself grinning back. She likes Sam; he’s gonna make an amazing Avenger, she can already tell. 

“Steve was right, you know. You’re one of the good guys.” Sam punctuated the sentence with a yawn, and Jo stretched so that she could pat his shoulder. 

“Get some rest, Falcon. JARVIS will make sure you’re up in time for dinner. Right, buddy?”

“Of course, Miss Jo.” Sam hummed at that, since he was already half asleep, and Jo forced her body upright. She wants nothing more than to just pass out, but she needs to finish the mental links as soon as possible. Two down, two to go. 

“Has Skye’s new headboard been installed?” She waited until she was on the other side of Sam’s closed door to ask, because she remembered Tony mentioning that a new one was being delivered since the old one had a bullet in it. 

“It has, Miss Jo. Would you like me to request Miss Skye’s presence in her room?” JARVIS is the literal best. He can probably see how wobbly her knees are. 

“That would be amazing, buddy. You sure I can’t kill anyone for you? Or have Tony make you a girlfriend? Whatever you want, it’s yours,” she rambled out as she shuffled her feet over to Skye’s room. The bed was perfectly made, new headboard in place, and she dropped down onto the blanket. She propped her back against the headboard, because she had a feeling that Skye wouldn’t want to. Her eyes closed as soon as she was still; she’s just going to gather up some strength while she waits. 

“No, but thank you for the sentiment, Miss Jo.”

“Anytime.”

**.xXx.**

It felt like there was cotton between her ears, so Skye lightly shook her head to see if it would change the full feeling. Jo’s only a few years older than her, but it feels like the mutant has lived a much longer life. It was a really good life for a while, and then things took a really bad turn. She doesn’t even know how Jo can stomach using the telepathy after what was done to her, but she does know. It’s because of Tony. He made using the telepathy easy, natural. Then Bruce trusted her with his mind, and she learned. God, Skye knows everything about Jo now. Absolutely everything.

“Skye? Are you conscious?” That’s Darcy’s voice, and now that she’s paying attention she can feel the bed dipping on both sides. She turned her head to the left, where Darcy’s voice had come from, and slowly opened her eyes. 

“Jo mugged your mugger because Tony hacked your iPod.” Darcy’s head tilted back as she laughed, because that was the first day she met Jo and Tony. Skye also saw the day that Viper shot Darcy in the head; she saw Thor holding Darcy’s body through Jo’s eyes, and she was so close to never even meeting her sister. 

“Yes, she did. They’re the strangest adopted parents I could have ever imagined, but they really care.” Tony gave her a job, sang off-key to make her laugh, and then let her go so that she could pursue a career that made her happy. Jo bought her bruise cream, teased her about her love life, and taught her how to dance because no one else ever took the time to. 

“Jo’s always had a big heart.” Skye turned her head to the right, towards the gruff voice, and met eyes that were the same color as hers. 

“You’ve looked after her for longer than she can remember. You were a good father to her. A good father to her and Anna Marie. Does that mean you’ll be a good grandfather to us?” Logan met her eyes and then looked across her to Darcy, and she could see the struggle in his eyes. After a moment, she felt a rough hand grab her own. His other hand stretched across her to grab Darcy’s, and she used her free hand to grab Darcy’s hand. They’re a little mixed up, arms crossing over each other instead of going in a neat circle, but it feels kind of right. 

“I’m going to try.” Nothing can make up for their pasts; he can’t teach them how to ride a bike or walk them to their first day of school, but he can be there for them now. If they let him. Skye’s still weirded out by all this, and there’s a part of her that just wants to run away from it all. It’d be safer that way. She’s always been alone, and you can’t get hurt when you’re alone. 

“Me too,” Darcy said and squeezed her hand. Skye looked back and forth between them, and they’re probably here because they didn’t want her to wake up alone after the mental link. They’re here because they care about her, even if they do barely know her. 

“Yeah, me too,” Skye whispered and smiled at them. It was then that she noticed the pizza box and bottles of water on her bedside table, and she heard her stomach give a quiet rumble. Darcy was the first to laugh, Skye quickly followed, and even Logan chuckled a little as he picked up the box. Skye sat up and scooted back, and they put the pizza box between them. It’s not much, but it’s a start.

**.xXx.**

_She was forced to kill her first friend. The other girl had blonde hair, so pale that it was nearly white, and her blue eyes looked like the night sky. She didn’t want to kill her, Annabelle, but she wasn’t given the signal to stop. The eyes that watched her demanded that she finish it, so she did. Watched as the light left her dark eyes. She didn’t dare to cry. She knew she’d be punished if she did._

 _At night, they handcuff her right wrist to the bedpost. They don’t trust her not to escape. They don’t trust any of them not to escape. Sometimes she pulls on the cuff, testing, but it never gives. She ignores the rattling of the other cuffs as some of the girls fight for freedom, because she knows that freedom is a lie._

_When she is seventeen, an archer with pretty eyes whispers to her that she can be better. He thinks that she can wipe the red out of her ledger, but he doesn’t understand that it’s gushing blood. She’s been killing for the past ten years. She can balance all of her weight on her big toe and can kill a man before he can register her eye color. The scars on her right wrist are faint, but they are a reminder that there is no such thing as freedom._

_She doesn’t like the mutant that they had to save. They were there to save everyone in the facility, but Fury put this mutant above the others. Said he owed an old friend a favor. Her eyes are dark and wild, like a caged animal, and she sees herself in this mutant. When she apologizes for attacking her, she shoots her in the head. When she feels a brush against her mind, she shoots her in the head. Maybe if she shoots her enough, she’ll push out the mutant’s memories of that place. Of her cage._

_For years, she thought she was doing the right thing. She left with Clint, trusted in Phil and Fury, so that she could do the right thing. She knows that she cannot erase her wrongs, but she can create balance. She can. SHIELD is Hydra is SHIELD. She doesn’t know whose lies she’s been telling; she doesn’t know who she’s been killing for. It doesn’t matter. She has found a team that she can trust. This time, she will be on the right side. She will balance her wrongs. She will clean the red from her ledger._

“So, you’ve never hated me?” Natasha’s eyes are a prettier green than hers, and Jo’s secure enough in her own self-esteem to admit it. They’re brighter, but they also hide more. 

“Did I ever use the word hate?” Natasha’s voice was a little rough, but that was to be expected. Looking back, Natasha never expressly said that she hated her. It was just implied, from all the gunshots to the head. 

“You were trying to make me lose my memory?” Jo’s just very confused about everything. For one, Natasha’s past was even worse than her own. Jo was lucky enough to have a good childhood; she had a caring mother, another mutant that she looked up to as a father, and peers that understood her. Natasha didn’t have any of those luxuries. 

“At first. Later, it just became a quick way to get a point across.” Natasha does normally shoot her to make a point. 

“I think you like me.” Jo’s voice was smug, and Natasha was glaring at her when she turned to smile at the beautiful redhead. 

“Won’t stop me from shooting you.”

“Fair enough.”

**.xXx.**

_Click._

“Did you seriously just take a picture?” Clint turned to look at Tony, who looked a little worried. Clint couldn’t stop smiling. 

“You realize that this is something that has never happened before and will probably never happen again? I need evidence.” Clint raised his phone to take another picture, and Tony rolled his eyes before mentally doing the same thing. It’s good to have his brain hooked up like a mega-computer. 

Their two platonic life partners were spread across Natasha’s bed, and it was hard to tell that the two women usually didn’t get along. Jo’s arms were wrapped around Natasha’s waist, and her face was pressed against the redhead’s chest. Natasha had her arms wrapped around Jo’s shoulders with her hands buried in her unbound hair, and her cheek was pressed against the top of Jo’s head. Their legs were tangled together, and Clint was pretty sure that Hell was freezing over as he and Tony took picture after picture. 

“Should we separate them before they wake up?” Tony whispered. 

“Definitely not,” Clint whispered back. 

Jo hummed as Natasha nuzzled her cheek against the top of her head, and Clint and Tony bit back their giggles as they closed the door. Everyone in the house was now protected, so they could all finally sleep. 

“Guess I’ll go tell Bruce that his cuddle buddy is going to be MIA tonight,” Tony said as headed towards the elevator. 

“I’m gonna go put these somewhere safe and secure!” Clint called back. He could still hear Tony laughing after the doors shut, and Clint smiled to himself. It’s been a really weird few days, but they’ll be back to normal soon enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know a lot happened in this chapter, and I’m expecting mixed reactions. I just want to say, no one feels as calm as they’re acting. I know everything probably seems really chill, but it’s not. Also, writing Natasha’s past really hurt. I got the idea after watching the first season of _Agent Carter_ , which everyone should watch. If there’s any questions about anything, I’d be happy to answer them!


	36. I'll Cover For You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _the times are tough now_
> 
> _just getting tougher_
> 
> _this old world is rough_
> 
> _it's just getting rougher_
> 
> **Cover Me by Bruce Springsteen**

**September 12, 2014**

“There is one thing I don’t get.” Skye waited for Tony to look up before continuing, because she wants his full attention for this.

They’ve been in the lab since after breakfast, and who knew that Thor could cook pancakes that taste so good that she’d be willing to go to war for them? Seriously, it’s ridiculous. After breakfast, everyone kind of split up. Jo and Natasha were apparently still asleep, so they hadn’t been at breakfast. Pepper and Darcy left for the office, and she’s not really sure about the others. She’s pretty sure she saw Steve and Logan walking off together, and Clint and Thor were talking about making a grocery run. (Clint kept saying that Jade needed treats, and Skye’s never seen a chicken treated so well.) Sam said something about checking out the local veteran’s center, and Bruce came up the elevator with them. He went to the left though, where his lab is. Tony invited her up to his lab so that they can work on retrieving SHIELD’s files, and some of Hydra’s. 

“What’s that, kiddo?” There’s that kid thing again. Jo did it yesterday too, and she knows it’s something that they do with Darcy. Are they trying to pseudo-adopt her too?

“Why did Viper bring out our powers and bring us together? Darcy and I had no idea that we had a twin somewhere out in the world, and Logan had no idea that he had any living relatives. So, why? Bringing us together makes us stronger, doesn’t it?” It’s something that’s been on her mind since last night, when she had pizza with Darcy and Logan. Yeah, it’s awesome that she has a family and everything now, but she doesn’t see what Viper’s getting out of this. 

“Maybe she’s playing a long game.” Tony twirled something between his fingers, looked like a miniature wrench, and stroked his goatee. 

“A long game?”

“You know, what will hurt more in the long run? We all know how much she hates Logan, so maybe she’s hoping that three of you will grow close. Once you’re close, she’ll tear you apart. It’d tear all of us apart, make us vulnerable.” He seemed to really be thinking it over, and she watched his eyes darken just a little bit. “Maybe you and Darcy shouldn’t go anywhere alone. I’m gonna have to put Jo back on full bodyguard status.”

“I thought we were super mutants now? Super strength, healing, all that good stuff.” She saw enough in Jo’s memories to know just how extensive the healing could be. She hasn’t really tested her strength yet or anything, but she feels stronger. 

“Everyone has limits. Even super mutants.” Tony looked extremely serious, and she remembered that Jo’s actual father was killed because his body just gave up. His healing couldn’t keep up. None of them are invincible. “Now, more hacking. We’ll speculate more later.”

**.xXx.**

“It’s lunchtime.” Pepper looked up from her desk and met Darcy’s eyes, and Darcy crossed her arms.

“I know.”

“JARVIS said that Jo is still unconscious, so who’s going to feed the scientists? They always forget to eat.” Darcy loves working for Pepper, loves working at Stark Industries, but she still worries about her old job. Which was mostly taking care of Tony. 

“What about Skye?” Pepper went for the logical choice, but so did Darcy. 

“JARVIS said she’s just as bad as Tony. Neither one of them have moved in hours.” She gets a sister, a twin sister, and she’s just as bad as the geniuses. Geniuses that forget to feed themselves. 

“Thor?” Darcy snapped her fingers, because she didn’t think about Thor. Thor and Clint were planning a grocery trip for the day, so they should be able to feed Bruce and Tony. And Skye. 

“I’ll go call him right now!” Darcy rushed out of the office and back into her own office, so she missed the way that Pepper smiled after her retreating form.

**.xXx.**

“Yo, Brucie! I brought you a sammich!” Bruce jumped at the sound of the loud voice and quickly twisted around on his stool. Clint was standing just inside the doorway of the lab, and he was holding a tray. A very large tray. A tray too big for just a sandwich.

“Why?” He realized too late that he should have just said thank-you when Clint grinned at him, and he watched as the archer walked across the lab to the couch. The tray was carefully sat down on the table in front of the couch, and Clint flopped back onto a cushion. 

“Darcy called. Jo’s still out, so she was worried that no one would feed the geniuses. So, take a break and come eat. Me and Thor found a sale on deli meats, so we’ve got every sandwich imaginable.” There really were a lot of sandwiches on the tray, more than he and Clint could possibly eat at one time, but Bruce lowered himself onto the couch anyway. 

“You didn’t have to.” He picked up a sandwich, looked like turkey, and took a bite. 

“We’re a team, Bruce. Maybe a family at this point, I don’t know. Darcy was worried about you, and I know Josie would’ve been upset if she heard that you went without. So, eat.” He’d already finished the first sandwich by the time Clint finished talking, and he nodded over at the archer as he picked up another one. 

“Thank you.”

“Thank Thor. He’s the master cook.” Bruce grinned at that and felt himself relax a little more. The people here are his team, his family, and he can trust them.

**.xXx.**

“Did you make all these?” Doreen was looking at the giant pile of sandwiches on the kitchen counter, and Thor smiled as he walked farther into the kitchen.

“Darcy says that people forget to eat unless food is brought to them. I took a tray to Tony and Skye. These are for Steve and Logan. I could make you some?” The big guy looks so earnest, but she can’t ask him to do that. He’s clearly already been busy. 

“Nah, I can make my own.” She started over towards the pantry, where the bread should be, but Thor beat her to it. 

“Allow me. Sit and tell me of your day.” Well, it’s not like she can argue with a god. As Thor created some really beautiful looking sandwiches, she told him about how her and Monkey Joe had spent the morning outside. Mostly climbing trees and relaxing in the shade. She got lucky. The balcony in her room is pretty level with a big tree branch, so she’s been exploring. 

“Holy baloney, these are delicious!” Simple food really shouldn’t taste this good, but it does. Maybe it’s because Thor is a god, or maybe it’s just because Thor is…Thor. He’s just that good. 

“Thank you, Doreen.” Thor should always smile like that. Big and carefree. She got him to tell her about his shopping trip with Clint while she devoured a few more sandwiches, and she almost choked a few times from laughing while trying to chew. She’s definitely gotta go with them one day, because if her imagination is close to the real thing, it’s hilarious. 

“What’s next?” she asked. There’s still a whole afternoon open, and she’s not really sure what to do. 

“Would you mind helping me bring these to Steve and Logan?” Right, the several other plates of sandwiches on the counter are for the super soldier and the growly mutant. 

“Not even a little bit. Let’s go feed ‘em before they waste away.” She picked up a plate with a tower of sandwiches as Thor did the same, and he smiled down at her as they walked out of the kitchen.

**.xXx.**

“Weirdest wakeup ever,” Jo groaned as she stumbled into the elevator. She woke up wrapped around Natasha like an octopus, and the weirdest thing was that Natasha was wrapped around her too. They’d looked at each other for a moment, assessed the situation, and then agreed that it never happened. Jo’s still counting it as progress though, because she knows that Natasha doesn’t hate her.

“Hey, sleepyhead.” Jo stopped rubbing at her eyes as she walked into the kitchen, and she smiled up at Steve. Logan was standing next to him, and they were both chopping up vegetables. Steve had a knife, but Logan was using his own claws. 

“’Bout damn time,” Logan added. 

“I’ve crammed a lot of memories into my head, so I think I deserved a day of sleep. I didn’t realize sleeping in meant that I’d lose my spot in the kitchen though.” She grinned at Steve as she said it, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders once she was close enough. 

“You can peel the potatoes.” She snapped off a salute, and she wound up between the two of them. Meat was cooking in the oven, and it looks like they’re having some kind of stew for dinner. 

“So, did you two talk?” Two pairs of eyes looked down at her, but she didn’t waver. She just kept peeling potatoes and waited for one of them to talk. 

“We talked about the old days,” Logan finally answered. 

“And Logan said he’d help me look for Bucky.” She’s got a few different memories of the Winter Soldier; some good, some bad. She knows that he shot Natasha to kill a target, and she’s very sure that he’s the one that shot Skye. 

“Before targeting Fury, I’m pretty sure he went after Skye. She never saw a glimpse of him, but it felt like him. It’s hard to explain, but I’m pretty sure.” It’s not really something that she wanted to say, but she wants to make sure that there are no secrets between them. Well, except for the secrets that obviously need to be kept. 

“Barnes is a good man. What Hydra made him do, that’s not him,” Logan said. He looked over her head at Steve, and she saw Steve nod at him from the corner of her eye. 

“I know that; I know that he’s a good man, underneath what they made him into. I just want you to be prepared,” she said and looked up at Steve. During their little therapy sessions, he talked about Bucky a lot. She knows that the two of them were close, and she doesn’t want Steve to get his hopes up just to have them completely shattered. 

“I know, but I have to try.” She nodded at that, because she already promised that she’d help find him too. “Go get Bruce. Dinner’s almost done.”

“Yes, sir!” She reached up to kiss Logan on the cheek, and she leaned over to do the same for Steve too before walking out. She didn’t run into anyone on her way to the elevator, and the elevator itself went straight to the top floor. Maybe JARVIS is helping her out? She could hear loud music coming from the right, and there were two voices screaming along. Sounds like Tony and Skye, so it looks like they’re bonding. She turned to the left with a smile on her face, and she literally skipped into Bruce’s lab. 

“I was starting to worry.” Bruce was actually facing her for once, and she skipped right up to him. Her arms wound around his shoulders, and she felt his strong hands lightly gripping her hips. 

“Nothing to worry about. I just did a mind meld with the Black Widow,” she said with a small eye roll. Dear Thor, she’s lucky to still be alive. Not because of Natasha, because Natasha actually kinda likes her. No, she’s lucky to be alive because she has so many memories rattling around inside her skull. 

“Dinnertime?” Hmm, she does kind of smell like stew. She also smells a little like stale sweat, and she’s still wearing the same pajamas from the other night. 

“Almost. How do you feel about a quick shower?” Bruce’s smile was small and beautiful, and she leaned forward to press her face against his neck. She’s missed just being close to him. As awesome as snuggling with Natasha was, she prefers Bruce. 

“I think we can squeeze in a quick shower,” Bruce whispered into her hair. It’s so good to be home.

**.xXx.**

“Breakfast was mild, you two are in for a treat,” Darcy whispered to Doreen and Skye. She would have whispered the same thing to Sam, but he was too far away. A few people were currently missing, but everyone is going to be here tonight. She’s sitting between Skye and Doreen, and they’re saving the seat next to Doreen for Thor. (Darcy hasn’t forgotten that Doreen said Thor was her favorite. She’s been teased for Clint being her favorite, so it’s time for someone else to be on the receiving end.) Natasha, Steve, and Sam are already in their seats. (Sam’s in what Darcy still thinks of as Maria’s chair.) The scientists and their ladies are missing, along with Clint, and Thor offered to help Logan carry out the food.

“What was that, Clinton?!” Ah, right on schedule. Clint slid into the room and then slid across the table, and Jo jumped after him. 

“You heard me, Josie! And you’ll never get ‘em!” The two of them were rolling across the floor on the other side of the table, and Darcy was cackling in her seat while Doreen and Skye were leaning over the table to watch. 

“Natasha! Clint took pictures!” Surprisingly enough, Natasha joined the fray. She jumped onto Clint’s back with a war cry, and Jo had him in a headlock. The archer was still managing to laugh. 

“I told you it was a bad idea!” Tony yelled as he walked into the dining room. Pepper took her seat, and Bruce sat in Tony’s usual seat since he was having a conversation with Pepper. Darcy couldn’t tell about what, because of all the yelling coming from the other side of the table. 

“Tony took pictures too!” Clint managed to yell out. Tony, who was laughing, yelped as his feet were pulled out from under him. Natasha had him in some kind of leg lock that looked painful, and Clint and Jo were taking turns tackling each other. 

“Say that to my face, ya yellow-belly!” Jo yelled out. 

“Ain’t my fault your face looks like your ass!” was Clint’s response. Tony was trying to tap out and crawl under the table at the same time, but Natasha had a strong hold on him. 

“Uh, should we break them up?” Sam asked. Steve was already shaking his head like a disappointed parent, and Bruce and Pepper weren’t even paying them any attention. 

“No,” Darcy squeezed out between laughs. Every once in a while, Clint or Jo’s head would pop up above the table, but it never lasted long. 

“You should not encourage them,” Thor said as he walked in. He put down a giant pot of something that smelled delicious, and Logan sat down a giant stack of bowls and some spoons. 

“Let’s break ‘em up before they break something,” Logan huffed and started around the table. 

“Never surrender!” Clint and Jo yelled in sync. 

“I surrender! Get her off of me!” Tony called out. Thor was able to pull Natasha and Tony apart, and Darcy was still amazed that Natasha looked perfectly poised while Tony looked like he went round-for-round with a lawnmower. Thor placed Natasha in her chair, and Tony was placed in the chair next to Bruce. Logan pulled Clint and Jo apart, which looked like it took some effort, and he roughly dropped them into their seats. 

“Stay!” Logan said and made sure to point at both of them. Clint was pouting in his seat next to Natasha, and Jo had her arms crossed as she sat next to Tony. Doreen and Skye slowly lowered themselves back into their seats, and Darcy wiped at the tears on her cheeks. Oh, she’s missed this. 

“Is it always like that?” Doreen whispered. The woman’s brown eyes were lit up, and Skye was still trying to catch her breath. 

“Normally,” Darcy replied with a smile. 

“Pepper?” The woman looked around Bruce at her fiancé, and Darcy realized that Clint and Jo were flicking pieces of napkin at each other. 

“Yes, dear?” 

“Can I have Skye as a new assistant, since you have Darcy? She actually likes engineering and hacking.” Darcy stuck her tongue out at Tony, and he replied in kind before smiling back at Pepper. 

“I get to work for Tony Stark?” Skye asked excitedly. 

“Have you heard him sing yet?” Darcy whispered. 

“Yeah, we rocked out earlier. It was pretty epic. I got Dum-E to dance with me,” Skye whispered back. 

“You do need someone to keep you in check. Sign the paperwork after dinner?” Pepper glanced from Tony to Skye, and they were both nodding enthusiastically. 

“Oh, Thor, there’s two of them,” Jo groaned. Since she looked away, Clint was able to hit her right in the ear. It made her screech and dive across the table with her spoon raised, but Logan grabbed her arm and pushed her back into her seat before any damage could be done. 

“You can spar tomorrow and get it out of your systems,” Logan said and pointed a claw at both of them. 

“Tomorrow at dawn?” Jo asked. 

“You’re on, Josie.” Clint and Jo shook hands, and Darcy rolled her eyes at the two of them. Always fighting, in the most ridiculous way possible. 

“I think I’m going to like it here,” Doreen whispered. 

“Me too,” Skye added.

**September 13, 2014**

The only reason Skye knew that Jo had been shot was because she toppled backwards, and Clint immediately turned towards the doorway. Skye was sitting between Doreen and Darcy, so she had to look around Darcy to see what Clint was looking at. Unsurprisingly, Natasha was standing in the doorway with a small smile on her face and a gun nowhere in sight. Jo and Clint were both in workout clothes, which clearly meant very different things to the two fighters. Jo was dressed in bright orange shorts and a purple sports bra, and Clint was wearing loose gray shorts and a sleeveless black shirt. So it was easy to see the sweat on their skin, and now the blood in Jo’s hair.

“Dammit, Nat! I just washed my hair this morning! Do you know how hard it is to wash all of this?” Jo wasn’t exactly whining, but it was a close thing. 

“I already called your names twice,” Natasha said and shrugged. She did? Then again, the three bystanders were cheering pretty loudly. Instead of fighting at dawn, Clint and Jo decided to fight it out after breakfast. Nick Fury and Maria Hill are supposed to be here today, so everyone was confined to the mansion. 

“Fury?” Jo asked as she wiped at her forehead. Clint was pouring a water bottle over her head and trying to get the blood out of her hair, but it didn’t look like it was working. 

“Be in the den in ten, or I’ll come find you.” Clint and Jo both saluted, and Natasha walked off. Skye looked up as the two fighters got closer to them, and they were smiling despite being out of breath. 

“We’re gonna go wash up. Meet you upstairs?” Jo asked. Clint was leaning against her side, and Skye noticed the way that Darcy was eying the archer’s arms. It’s understandable. 

“Yay, we get to have a meeting with Nick Fury. If he calls me Squirrely, I’m gonna sic Monkey Joe on him,” Doreen said as she stood up. Skye saw Nick Fury in Jo’s memories, and she’s not really looking forward to meeting the man. He’d been very intimidating, so she can’t imagine what he’s like in person. 

“Fury’s on our side,” Darcy said as she stood up. Skye was the last one up, and she watched as Jo and Clint disappeared behind a door that led to a shower-slash-changing room. It’s basically a locker room. 

“So we don’t have anything to worry about?” Skye asked as they made their way out of the gym. 

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Darcy muttered as they stepped onto the elevator. 

“Yeah, ‘cause Fury doesn’t really do house calls,” Doreen added. 

Skye followed the other two women into the den, and she noticed that nearly everyone was already in the room. Darcy and Doreen moved to join Thor on the couch, and the couch was already looking a little full. After a moment’s indecision, she sat next to Logan on a loveseat. He seemed a little surprised, but he still smiled at her a little. Steve, Sam, and some woman that she recognized as Maria Hill were sitting on another couch. Natasha was sitting on the arm of an empty chair, so the chair is reserved for Clint. Pepper and Bruce were sitting in the center of yet another couch, and she assumed the empty spaces next to them were for Tony and Jo. Tony was standing up and talking to two men, and Skye instantly recognized Nick Fury. He was tall, wearing a black trenchcoat, and had an eyepatch. Not that hard to miss. She couldn’t readily identify the other man though, not until Jo came into the room. 

“James Rhodes! It’s an honor to finally meet you!” Jo called out as she walked through the room. The man turned to greet her, and Skye saw him smile as they shook hands. That’s when it clicked. He’s a friend of Tony’s. She’s seen him on the news, both as a Colonel in the Air Force and as War Machine. He’s the only other person with an Ironman suit. 

“The honor is all mine. Thanks for keeping this one alive while I was away,” he said and jerked a thumb at Tony. 

“You’re talking like I need a babysitter, Rhodey.”

“You do,” Jo and Rhodey said at the same time. Tony glared at both of them, but they both looked immune to it. 

“We don’t have time for this.” Nick Fury’s glare seemed to have more of an impact, because Jo’s back straightened and she nodded. 

“Compare notes later?” Jo asked Rhodey. 

“You got it,” he said and shook her hand again. Jo moved to sit next to Bruce, and Tony sat next to Pepper after sharing a few more words with Rhodey and Fury. Once everyone was seated, Fury’s one eye moved around the room. Skye felt completely immobile when his eye locked with hers, because it was like he was trying to see inside of her. 

“You’ve created a mental link with everyone, Eris?” Eris…that’s Jo’s actual codename. Tank sounds cooler. 

“Yes. Everyone here is protected and on our side.” Skye didn’t miss the way that Fury’s eye flicked over to her, and she sat up a little straighter. She felt Logan’s hand on her shoulder, and she was glad for the support. 

“Me, Hill, and Rhodes have been looking for candidates to start rebuilding SHIELD. We now know that there are Hydra bases out there, and we need to start taking them down. Are you strong enough to scan our candidates?” Fury was looking right at Jo, and Skye thought it was a little funny that Bruce was braiding her wet hair during a very important meeting. 

“Scan? Yes. I don’t think I can do anymore mental links though.”

“Not even for me?” Jo looked over at Maria Hill, who was smiling just a little bit. One side of her lips was quirked up. “I’ve requested to be the Avengers handler. I’ll be the go-between for the Avengers and the new Director of SHIELD. Probably do some PR too.”

“Well, if you’re planning on moving back in, I guess we’ll have to link up. Last one though,” Jo said and pointed at her. Maria held up her hands, because the two of them are kinda like friends. They worked together for a few years; Jo was Maria’s first big responsibility at SHIELD, and they moved up the ranks together.

“The rest are just scans. I need to make sure the team I’ve chosen is truly trust-worthy.”

“I’ll scan ‘em.” Bruce was finally finished with her hair, so Jo leaned back against the couch. 

“Before I bring them in, I do have something to announce. We found him at a Hydra facility that was abandoned; he’s been under since last year, and we believe that Hydra was trying to discover how he was still alive.” Fury was being very cryptic, but she’s got a feeling that’s just how he is. 

“Holy shit,” Jo whispered. 

“He who, sir?” Clint asked. It sounded like the archer was asking the question through his teeth, and a few others in the room were sitting forward. 

“Forgotten me already, Agent Barton?” When Skye turned her head, she saw two people standing in the doorway to the den. It was a man and a woman, both in suits, and it was the man that had spoken. It took Skye a second, but she recognized him too. Agent Phil Coulson. He was Clint and Natasha’s handler, and he died during the Battle of Manhattan. 

“Is he a mutant too?” The question just slipped out of her, and she felt a few questioning eyes on her. “What? Darcy and I died, and we both came back as mutants.”

“We can wait a minute.” Jo was already on her feet, and she wrapped her arms around Phil’s neck. The man’s face started to grow red as she hugged him, and Clint and Natasha slowly walked towards the pair. 

“You’re cutting off his circulation!” Clint yelled. Jo jumped back with an apology, and Clint pushed her to the side so that he could take her place. Natasha hugged him as well, and everyone else in the room slowly joined them. Pepper and Tony took turns hugging him and welcoming him back, Maria hugged him, Steve shook his hand, and Darcy squeezed him while Thor pounded on his back. 

“Good to see you as well, Agent May,” Skye heard Jo say. Agent Melinda May…Jo didn’t have many memories of her, mostly just small glimpses and a lot of rumors. Jo respected the senior agent though. 

“Wanna tell us what happened, Agent?” Tony asked once everyone was back in their seats. Coulson and May were sitting on a loveseat, so Fury and Rhodey were still the only ones standing. 

“Honestly, I’m not really sure. My last memory is of Loki, but it’s not of him killing me.” Right, Thor’s brother was the one that killed him. 

“Explain, please.” Thor’s voice was so solemn, but Skye thought she could hear just a hint of hope. 

“I don’t know where I was; I just remember him standing over me. His hands were blue, and he asked me to please stay still because he didn’t have very long. I went unconscious after that. Next time I woke up, Fury was standing over me.”

“You’re saying that Loki saved your life?” Clint asked. Loki’s the guy that brainwashed Clint and killed Coulson, but he also saved Coulson’s life? Yeah, that doesn’t really add up. 

“I think so,” Coulson said and looked over at Thor. “Has he said anything to you?”

“Loki has said nothing since returning to his cell.” Right, because a lot of weird stuff happened in Asgard. Thor’s mom died but not really, but his dad lied about it so that Thor (and Loki) would fight some Dark Elves. Thor’s then girlfriend, Jane Foster, was also caught up in everything. Then Loki died but not really. When it was all said and done, Loki appeared back in his cell and went silent. 

“Eris?” Jo looked up at Fury, and Skye noticed that her eyes widened just a little bit. 

“Yes?”

“I need you to check Coulson and May. If they clear, they’ll be the Co-Directors of SHIELD.”

“Right now?” Her voice was a little higher than usual but still sounded like gravel; it was hard to describe. 

“You doing something else right now?” Jo shook her head and stood up, and she walked over to where Coulson and May were sitting. She knelt down on the floor between the two of them, and she reached for Coulson’s hand first. 

“I’m just gonna do a quick scan. I’m gonna go over your memories of what happened during the battle and after, and I’ll be looking for any hidden Hydra thoughts. Try not to fight me, okay?”

“Go ahead, Jo,” Coulson said and smiled at her. Everything went quiet for several minutes, like everyone was afraid to move or even breathe too loud. After about twenty minutes of nearly complete silence, Jo shook her shoulders and turned her head towards Thor first. 

“He was telling the truth. It was Loki that closed his wound and saved him.” Skye noticed that Thor was careful not to let anything show on his face, and Jo twisted around to look at Fury. “Huge surprise here. Coulson is definitely not working for Hydra.”

“I don’t have time for your flippancy,” Fury said. 

“Your turn, Agent May. Please don’t hurt me.” Jo grabbed the female agent’s hand, and the room went quiet again. Another excruciating quiet twenty minutes later, Jo looked up at Fury and declared that Agent May was completely cleared. 

“I’ll bring in the others later, and you can assess them in privacy.” Fury’s voice was a command, not a request, and Jo nodded once she was standing. 

“What are we going to do about Hydra?” Steve asked after Jo sat down. 

“Coulson and May’s team will take the bulk of the Hydra bases. Which jobs you take will be up to you. As far as the rest of the world knows, I’m dead and I’m staying that way. It’ll be up to you to decide who goes where.” Steve and Maria both nodded at that, and so did Coulson and May. They’re in sync. 

“We’ll have our team here in an hour,” May said and looked right at Jo. 

“What are the rest of us supposed to do?” Tony asked. 

“We could celebrate my miraculous return to life?” Coulson suggested. Clint laughed and whooped, and a few of the others joined in. 

“I would like to question Loki.” Thor’s voice was quiet, but everyone in the room heard him. 

“And if he doesn’t talk?” Clint asked him. 

“Bring him here, and I’ll see what’s locked inside that head of his,” Jo said. Skye could literally feel the room tense up at the thought of Loki back on Earth, and Jo looked everyone in the eye as if daring them to go against her. 

“I’d like to know why he saved me after stabbing me,” Coulson threw out. 

“Why not? Bring Reindeer Games down for a visit,” Tony said and looked over at Jo. 

“Then I will return shortly.” Darcy hugged Thor before he stood up, and Doreen lightly patted his bicep in farewell. 

“Use the roof!” Tony called after him. 

“Aye!”

The room was quiet for all of ten seconds and then it exploded in sound. Everyone was standing up and mingling, and Skye was starting to feel a little claustrophobic. She knows everyone in here, either because she’s already met them or she’s got some of Jo’s memories of them. What she does know is that it’s all a little too much, and she needs to get out to get some fresh air. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and the hair next to her ear moved just a little. 

“Make a run for it. I’ll cover for you,” Logan whispered. She looked over at him, and she saw him smiling just the tiniest bit. 

“Thanks,” she whispered back. She slowly edged her way out of the room, and no one came after her once she was in the foyer. She stepped out of the front door and sucked in a deep breath. Maybe she can just do a quick walk, around the block or something, to clear her head. She’ll be back before anyone notices that she’s missing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To start with, Logan is the only one sleeping in the mansion that Jo does not have a mental link with. Why? Because Logan already has mental barriers, after years of living at the Professor’s mansion with two telepaths. So Viper, or who’s helping her, can’t get into Logan’s head.
> 
> Next up, Coulson is alive! I love Coulson, and it bothers me so much that he’s not in the MCU anymore. I know he has his own show and that it’s awesome, but everyone still thinks he’s dead. Well, not in this story! Coulson is back, and he’s going to take over Fury’s place. Partially. He’s got help. Agent Melinda May is from _Agents of Shield_ , and she’s extremely badass. Watch the show. So, Coulson and May are going to pop up randomly. They won’t be doing what they did in the show, because I’m not bringing in the Inhumans.
> 
> In the next chapter, there’ll be some glimpses of some of our favorite characters!
> 
> If there’s any questions about anything, don’t hesitate to ask!


	37. Alright, Here We Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _of or concerning the part of the mind_
> 
> _of which one is not fully aware_
> 
> _but which influences_
> 
> _one's actions and feelings_
> 
> **Definition of Subconscious**

“You know he will not allow it.” Thor paused at the edge of the Bifrost and looked over at Heimdall. 

“I do not take orders from him. Not anymore.” The palace rose above him as he continued forward, and he met no resistance as he walked into the palace and started towards the dungeons. Loki’s cell was the first one on the left, and he could see his brother sitting against the far wall. Their eyes locked, but Loki didn’t seem surprised to see him. He also didn’t say anything. 

“He still does not speak.” Thor didn’t turn at the sound of his father’s voice; he just continued to look at his brother. His hair has grown longer and is unruly; his clothes are plain and simple. His brother is better than this. 

“I have a friend who has agreed to aid him. I am taking him back to Midgard.”

"You still think he can be saved? Redeemed?” He turned to look at his father, and he noticed that his father’s body was angled away from Loki’s cell. As if he did not want to notice his presence at all. 

“You do not?” His brother has done wrong, but Thor still has hope. 

“Come. See your mother before you leave. One more night will not make a difference.” Odin turned and left the dungeon, and Thor turned back to face Loki once more. 

“I will fix this, brother.” He thought he saw Loki’s eyes widen, but it could have been his own hopeful desires. He tried to smile, despite Loki’s impassive face, before turning to follow in his father’s footsteps. He will see his mother and then he will take Loki to Jo.

**.xXx.**

“Seriously, thank you for taking care of him,” Rhodey whispered. Tony was talking to Coulson, loudly, so Jo wasn’t sure why the Colonel was being so quiet. Then again, Tony does have the strangest ability to know when people are talking about him.

“Eh, he grows on you after a while, doesn’t he?” she whispered back. She respects James Rhodes. Being in the military isn’t easy, but she’s glad that Rhodey is going to be the liaison between the Avengers and the U.S. Government. Mostly because she knows that Rhodey will always be on Tony’s side. 

“Like a fungus,” Rhodey agreed. 

“I heard that!” Tony managed to yell at them over his shoulder while still carrying on a separate conversation, and her annoyed huff sounded exactly like Rhodey’s. Looks like it’s a sound that comes from being around Tony Stark for extended periods of time. 

“Colonel Rhodes!” Sam walked up to them, and Jo watched on as the two men shook hands. Sam noticed her curious stare, but then it clicked. So many memories; it’s hard to keep them straight sometimes. Rhodey trained Sam, back when he first joined the Air Force, so they’re kinda like old friends. Jo excused herself after a moment and walked over to where Bruce was talking quietly with Maria and Steve. Looks like they’re filling Maria in on everything. 

“So, a mind meld, huh?” Maria asked her when they were through. Jo was leaning her head against Bruce’s shoulder and trying to stay awake, so she nearly missed the question. 

“Mhmm. I’ll scan the new team first, but we’ll need to do it before you go to bed tonight. So far, Viper’s only attacked when people are unconscious so no one is allowed to sleep in the mansion until they’ve been protected,” Jo drawled out. She feels like she could sleep for a week, and she might do just that once everything is said and done. 

“You got it,” Maria said with a forced smile. Jo knows it’s forced because her face looks tight, and she gets it. Having someone in your brain isn’t fun, and Jo’s not looking forward to it either. Not because she doesn’t like Maria, she likes the woman and respects her, but her head already feels too full. 

“Captain Rogers? Can we talk?” Jo tilted her head so that she could see Agent May, and Steve politely excused himself before walking off with the woman. 

“Whole new era,” Maria said as the three of them watched Steve and May talk. 

“A better one,” Bruce added. Jo nuzzled his shoulder to show her agreement and reminded herself to stay conscious again. That new team better hurry up, because she’s dead on her feet.

**.xXx.**

Skye walked around the block, then went a little farther, and finally stopped after a good half hour of walking. There was a bench sitting off to itself, kind of in front of a monument, and she plopped herself down onto the rickety wood. The monument was large and bronze, but she was on the wrong side to really see what it was. There was a horse and a dude on top of the horse, but that was all she could tell. The bench placement really didn’t make any sense, but she didn’t feel like moving. Even when someone sat down on the opposite end, because she got here first.

“You look sad.” She startled a bit at the voice, most strangers keep to themselves, and she glanced over. The voice had been masculine, and that was definitely a man sitting next to her. A blue baseball cap was pulled down pretty low over his face, so she couldn’t see his eyes, but she could see the little bit of scruff on his cheeks and chin. His hair was brown, almost to his shoulders, and looked unwashed. His clothes were dirty too, and he was wearing layers. Baggy layers. 

“I’m sitting on a bench positioned in front of a horse’s ass. What’s there to be happy about?” The guy laughed, but it sounded rusty. Like he hadn’t laughed in a long time. He tipped his head back, and she saw his Adam’s apple bob as he looked up at the sky. 

“Sun’s out. Weather’s nice.” He looked over his shoulder, facing away from her, and shrugged. “Nothing’s on fire.”

“Nice weather and no explosions. That’s all it takes to make you happy?” He shrugged again, and she listened to the way his layers rustled at the movement. It’s not really hot out, but he’s got to be burning up in all of that. 

“Why aren’t you happy?”

“Who says I’m not?” His eyes flicked over to her, but it was too fast for her to catch the color. 

“You’re frowning.” She’s not frowning; her resting face just happens to look a little frowny sometimes. 

“I’m not frowning.” He stayed silent, which made her bristle for some reason. “Okay, maybe I’m frowning a little. It’s just, my whole life has literally just been turned upside down. I should be super psyched, but instead I feel like I’m going crazy. I must be going crazy, because I’m complaining about my not-problems to a homeless guy on a bench.”

“I’m not homeless.” She raised a brow at that but chose not to comment. “What are your not-problems?”

“I’m not telling some stranger my life story.” He slumped down on the bench a little and spread his knees, and his gloved hands ran up and down his thighs. 

“Sometimes it’s easier to talk to a stranger, and I didn’t ask for your whole life story.” Okay, so the not homeless guy is giving her a little sass. She could hear it in his tone. She huffed and crossed her arms, and she slumped down against the bench so that she was nearly mirroring his position. 

“I grew up in foster homes. Put myself through college. I’ve been alone my whole life. Now, due to some really freaky circumstances that I am totally not getting into, I’ve found my family. Like, real family. A twin sister and a grandfather. There’s also all these other people around, and they’re so nice and it’s like they’ve already accepted me into the family. But they don’t know me, except that they do. And I don’t know them, except that I kind of do. It’s just a lot to absorb at one time, and I have to keep telling myself not to run away from it all. I’ve always been alone, and I was safe. What if having a family makes me not safe?”

“Do you want my honest opinion?” She turned fully on the bench, so that the metal arm of the bench pressed into her lower back, and pulled her feet up onto the bench as well. Her thighs pressed against her chest, and she looped her arms just under her knees. She’s looking directly at the stranger now, but she still can’t really see his face. It’s frustrating. 

“No, I just poured my guts out in the hope that you would sit there silently and judge me. Yes, I want your opinion. If I don’t like it, I’ll just ignore it.” His stubbly cheek twitched, like he wanted to smile, and the fingers of his left hand tapped against his knee. 

“You’re scared because you have something to lose now. If you open up to them, love them and let them love you, you give them the power to hurt you. It’s a valid fear.”

“Damn, do you charge by the hour?” His eyes flicked over at her again, but he still looked away too fast. There was a part of her that wanted to grab his face and force him to meet her eyes, but a larger part of her told her that was a very bad idea. 

“I’m not wrong. That’s why you’re deflecting.” Yeah, the stranger has a point. If she decides to go all-in with this new family dynamic, there’s a good chance that something horrible will happen. What if the only reason she was given a family was to have them ripped away?

“Would it be worth it? What if I only get a few months with them? A year or two? Wouldn’t it be easier to just leave now, before losing them hurts?” She likes Darcy, her twin sister. She knows that becoming really close to her won’t take long at all, and Logan’s even starting to grow on her a little. Tony’s been going out of his way to make her laugh, and Jo acts like a protective mama bear. All of the others have been amazing so far too, and she’s terrified of it all. 

“It’s worth it. Being alone…it’s not any way to live. It’s just surviving. You should live.” The stranger’s voice was quiet and quite possibly the saddest tone that she’s ever heard. 

“Talking from personal experience?” He reached up to tug at his cap, pulling it even lower, and she huffed. His eyes are even more shadowed now. 

“You should go home.” _Home_. Tony had everything from her old apartment shipped to the mansion, so the Avengers Mansion really is home now. She signed paperwork to make her Tony Stark’s official assistant, and her family is there. 

“Wanna walk me? I hear the streets aren’t safe.” She’s a mutant now, but she still hasn’t tested any of her mutant abilities. That’s not why she asked him to walk her home though. For some reason, she wants to stay beside him for just a little bit longer. Maybe get an actual look at his face. 

“After you.” She uncurled from the ball she’d pulled herself into, and she twisted around to stretch her back a little once she was standing. The stranger didn’t stand up until she started walking away, and he stayed next to her but a little behind her too. So that she still couldn’t see his face. 

“Do you always give random advice to people on benches?” They’d been quiet for the whole walk, but she can see the mansion now. They’ll be at the gate any moment now, but the walk hadn’t felt awkward. She’d strolled and hummed, and she could see the stranger from the corner of her eye for the entire trip. 

“Only the ones facing horse’s asses.” Her laugh was startled out of her, and she thought she saw the stranger smile. It was hard to tell since his whole face was shadowed by his hat. 

“Well, maybe we’ll meet again someday, mysterious stranger.” She turned around to fully face him, but he knew just how to hold himself so that she couldn’t really get a good look at him. 

“Maybe.” He placed two fingers on the corner of the hat’s bill and dipped his head towards her, and she watched as he turned around to walk back the way they’d just come from. It’s not the weirdest thing that’s happened this week, but she’s adding it to the list. The gate opened easily, and she pressed her thumb against the front door. JARVIS let her in, and she could hear voices in the dining room. Darcy was the first one to notice her, and she jumped out of her chair to rush towards her. Skye tensed up at first, but Darcy just threw her arms around her shoulders. 

“I was looking everywhere for you! Jo’s scanning the new SHIELD team, and Tony just ordered a ton of food! As soon as everyone’s cleared, we’re having a party!” Darcy clapped as she jumped up and down, and the excitement in the room was a little contagious. (A party with the Avengers, but minus alcohol. Jo’s outlawed it in the house, for Tony, and Skye’s okay with that. She has a feeling that the party can get a little wild without any extra help.)

“With balloons and streamers?” Skye quipped. At least, it was meant to be a quip. Darcy’s face turned thoughtful, and Doreen edged closer to them. 

“Don’t have any balloons, but there are poster boards and glitter in Jo’s room. She’s scanning people in the gym, so we could totally get into her room and make banners for Coulson. Who’s with me?” Darcy looked back and forth between them, and Skye glanced over at Doreen. 

“Sure, I’m game.”

“A chance to cover a mansion in glitter? I’m definitely in,” Doreen grinned. Darcy led the way to the elevator, and Skye shook her head a little. Maybe the stranger was right. Maybe all of this really is worth the potential pain.

**.xXx.**

“Agent Morse, it’s been a pleasure, as always.”

“We’ve seen each other naked. You can call me Bobbi, Jo.”

“For the last time, that was an accident. Clerical error.”

“Yeah, they accidentally sent us on the same mission, where we were pitted against each other in a pit of Jell-O. Definitely an accident.”

“It was all Clint’s fault.”

“Hunter helped.”

There’s a pop-up table in the center of the gym, because it’s a little more intimidating. That’s what Tony said, anyway. The woman on the other side of the table, Bobbi Morse, is one of Jo’s favorite SHIELD agents. They worked a few missions together, but the one earlier discussed had been accidental. They were infiltrating some millionaire’s birthday party, because he had some kind of high-tech in his basement, and they were both scheduled as the entertainment. It was a pretty unforgettable night. 

“So glad you’re not Hydra,” Jo said and reached across the table to shake Bobbi’s hand. The other woman is completely human and tough as nails, so Jo’s glad they’re friends. 

“Likewise. I’ll send in Izzy next.” Jo watched Bobbi walk from the room, and Izzy strolled in next. The senior agent sat down in the chair with a small smirk, and Jo plopped her hand in the center of the table palm up. 

“I feel like I’m getting my fortune told,” Izzy said as she slid their palms together. 

“Sorry, Agent Hartley, but I only do the past and present.” Jo gave her a comforting smile before closing her eyes, and she made sure to scan Izzy’s mind very carefully. Senior agents are good to hiding things, but there’s not much that can be hidden from Jo. Especially now that she’s had so much practice. After quite a bit of digging, Jo pulled back and slowly blinked her eyes open. 

“Am I clear?”

“Like anyone ever doubted you to begin with?” Agent Hartley has always been upfront about her opinions, and Jo’s always trusted the older woman. The fact that she cleared wasn’t a surprise at all. It’s the younger agents, and the non-agents, that she’s a little worried about. 

“Shaw’s next, then Weaver. The kids start after that. Have some fun with them.” Izzy gave her a little wink before walking off, and Jo cracked her neck as she waited for the next agent. 

Agent Charles Shaw is a senior SHIELD agent, a quiet and reserved man, and he passed with flying colors. Agent Anna Weaver, who was the Head of the Science and Technology division at the SHIELD Academy, also passed. Jo was surprised that the woman made it out of the SHIELD Academy. From what she could see, Hydra agents hit it pretty hard. She’s glad the older agent made it, because SHIELD needs all the agents it can get. 

“My favorite students are up next. Be nice to them.” She gave Agent Weaver a lazy salute and was surprised when a young man walked into the gym next. He didn’t have the look of an agent, so this must be one of the scientists. 

“Hello, my name’s Jo,” she said as he sat down. 

“Fitz, Leo. Well, Leopold actually, but I prefer Fitz. Can’t believe I’m meeting The Tank.” He said her more fun codename with true reverence, which got a grin out of her. He also had an adorable Scottish accent, so she was already rooting for him. 

“Just relax, Fitz. I’ll have you out of here in no time.” He smiled at her as they clasped hands, and scanning his mind almost felt like being inside of Tony’s head. His mind was a little more organized, but there was still that constant swirl of ideas. Under that, the kid was completely loyal to SHIELD. She easily pulled out of his mind and smiled again. “You should talk to Tony about that death-ray thing. He’ll get a kick out of it. Might even help you build it.”

“I’m going to meet the Tony Stark?” She grinned and put a finger to her lips, and she could have sworn the kid had a skip in his step as he left the room. The next person in was a young woman, and she shifted a little nervously in her seat. 

“Sorry, it’s just, I never even knew that telepathy was a real thing. I know mutants are real, I’ve seen the reports, but I’ve never actually met one. It’s all a bit fascinating, really.”

“Another scientist?” Jo asked with a gentle smile. 

“Bio-chem. Is it true that Dr. Banner is here? I’ve always wanted to talk to him about his work on anti-electron collisions.” Oh, she can’t wait to tell Bruce that he has a fan with the cutest little English accent. She also already knows quite a bit about Jemma Simmons from Fitz’s memories. It’s like their two halves of one whole. 

“Clear the scan, and I’ll introduce you to him myself.” Jemma actually squealed a little as she reached a hand out, and it didn’t take Jo long to scan the young woman’s mind. Her first love was definitely science, and she was loyal to SHIELD. Loyal to the people who took her in and challenged her. She wants to help. 

“When this is over, I’ll take you and Fitz up to meet our resident geniuses.” Jemma thanked her, at least three times, as she walked out of the gym. The next person in was an agent that Jo had heard of but never personally met, but she knows that he was trained and worked under John Garrett. Unfortunately, Garrett was revealed to be Hydra. He’s still running around out there somewhere, but Antoine Triplett refused to follow him. 

“Eris.” He nodded at her as he sat down, and she held her hand out. 

“Agent Triplett.” She scanned his memories, from the time before he joined SHIELD until right before he walked into the mansion. He grew up listening to his grandfather tell stories about Captain America and Peggy Carter, and all he ever wanted to do was follow in his grandfather’s footsteps. He was completely loyal to SHIELD; he was loyal to SHIELD before he even learned how to ride a bike. 

“That felt weird.” Under his serious agent face, he’s a really laid back guy. Funny, smart. He also has medical training, which could help the team. 

“It’s weird for me too,” she said and cracked a smile. He smiled back, and Jo wiped her hand against her skinny jeans as she waited for the next agent. She should be almost done by now. 

“Tank. It’s nice to put a face to the agent that kept me employed for so long.” The man walking towards her was massive, but he had a lazy stride and an easygoing smile on his face. 

“Mack. I’m sorry I destroyed so many things that you had to repair.” She caught his name skittering across the surface of his mind, and she’s heard a lot about Alphonso Mackenzie. He’s one of SHIELD’s best mechanics, and he was usually the one that had to repair the various things she broke around SHIELD. 

“Nah, we used the stories to scare the newbies so it was worth it.” His hand completely engulfed hers, and his mind was easy to scan. He was completely open and didn’t try to hide anything from her, so it didn’t take long for her to scan everything she needed. She doesn’t need to know about his childhood. 

“Glad you’ll be staying with us, Mack.” He shook her hand before leaving, and Jo sat up a little straighter in her chair as the next man walked inside. She could see the obvious enhancements, and May filled her in a little. Mike Peterson, codenamed Deathlok, was drafted into Project Centipede by John Garrett. The experiments were similar to the Extremis experiments, some with the same explosive results, but Mike Peterson survived. Now it’s her job to see if he really has switched sides. 

“I’m Mike.” He held his hand out towards her, and she clapped her palm against his. 

“Jo.” Getting into his mind was a little difficult, because of the enhancements, but she was able to see his memories. He didn’t know what Project Centipede was really about, didn’t know that it was set up by Hydra, and only worked for Garrett because Hydra had his son. His son is now with Mike’s sister and safe, and Mike wants to make up for the wrongs he was forced to do. He’s loyal to SHIELD. 

“You’re smiling. I’m guessing that’s a good thing?” His smile was tentative, and Jo lightly squeezed his hand. 

“Not many people get a chance at redemption. I’m glad you are.” His smile turned a little more genuine, and he shook her hand before leaving the room. That should be just about everyone, except for…

“They saved the best for last!” Jo groaned at the sound of the British accent, and she kept up her glare as the last man sauntered into the room and collapsed into the empty chair. “Don’t give me that look, love. Me and you? We’re even.”

“You shot me,” she reminded him. A gut shot too, which was not fun. Very messy. 

“After you broke my leg.”

“I didn’t break your leg. You jumped off a building.”

“I yelled for you to catch me.”

“I had better things to do, like distracting trained killers from killing you. Worst mercenary ever.” Lance Hunter grinned at her, propped his elbow on the table, and pointed a finger at her. 

“Worst catcher ever.” Jo grabbed the finger that was centimeters from her face and then moved her hand down so that her fingers were wrapped completely around his fist. 

“Just be glad I didn’t drop you on your head,” she said before diving into his mind. Hunter started out in the Special Air Service, which is impressive. After a mission involving Bobbi, he retired from the SAS and married Bobbi. He also became a mercenary, which is how they met. She knows that he and Bobbi got divorced, the two normally argue whenever they’re in the same area, but they still care about each other. They wouldn’t agree to work with each other otherwise. 

“Well, Tank, am I all cleared?” Hunter’s cocky and sarcastic, usually annoying, but he’s a good man. A loyal man. 

“If I tell them no, do you think they’ll let Bobbi take a few swings at you before taking you out back?” Hunter threw his head back with a laugh, and Jo got out of her chair. 

“Always liked you, Jo. Even when you were throwing me to the wolves.” Hunter hooked an arm around her neck as they walked out of the gym together, and she lightly slapped him upside the head. Lightly, because he is only human. 

“From what I remember, it was your idea to run through the woods that just so happened to be filled with wolves. Do you know how long it took for my thigh muscle to grow back?” She could feel the others in the hallway looking at them, and the younger agents had wide eyes as they went back and forth. 

“Yeah, three hours, because you complained the whole damn time. And I had to carry you.”

“Only reason they caught me was because I was carrying your dead weight,” she shot back. 

“Agent Holbrook. Report.” She literally felt her spine straighten at the sound of Agent May’s voice, and she could see Coulson trying to fight down a smile. Maria and Steve were standing next to them, and the two of them looked like they were fighting down smiles as well. 

“All agents have been fully cleared. They’re loyal to SHIELD,” Jo declared. 

“Guess that means we can all go enjoy my surprise party,” Coulson said and rubbed his hands together. 

“It’s not a surprise if you know about it,” May pointed out. Jo ignored all of them and walked over to the two whispering scientists. 

“Ready to go meet Tony Stark and Bruce Banner?” Fitz and Simmons both looked at her with wide eyes, and that’s a look that she likes. Excitement and joy. They could use some of that. “Right this way, people!”

**.xXx.**

“I’m pretty sure this place is filled to capacity,” Doreen whispered to Jo. Well, she spoke at a normal volume, but it’s so loud in the dining room that it sounded like a whisper. Just as they planned, Doreen helped Darcy and Skye make a banner for Agent Coulson using giant poster boards and a lot of glitter. That glitter is now sprinkled all across the room and is on most of the guests.

“Probably a little past that,” Jo agreed. Her fellow mutant was watching two young scientists chatter excitedly at Tony and Bruce, and Doreen had to admit that it was cute. Tony was obviously loving the attention, and Bruce looked both shy and excited at the same time. Most of the SHIELD agents were gathered together and telling old “war” stories, except for one big guy. Mack, that was the guy’s name. He was sitting next to Skye and Darcy, and Doreen’s pretty sure they’re talking about video games. Pepper is talking quietly with Natasha and Maria, and it looks like everyone is having a grand ol’ time. 

“Do you think Thor’s okay? He’s been gone all day.” Their meeting was this morning, and he left right after that. They’re moving past dinnertime now, and the god is still MIA. 

“He hasn’t been home in a while, and he didn’t exactly leave on good terms. I’m sure he’ll be back soon,” Jo said and smiled over at her. The woman’s all smiles, but she still looks tired. She’s gotta do another mental link tonight too, and that’s not going to be easy on her. 

“Are you going to be okay? The mental links aren’t gonna make you crazy, are they?” Doreen’s always been a blunt kind of person, and there’s no point in changing that now. 

“I don’t think so. I just need to sleep for about a week.” She huffed out a laugh and even that sounded tired. 

“Don’t overdo it, Tank. Even you have limits.”

“Josie! Come tell these amateurs about that time we took over an entire city!” Clint yelled across the room. Jo turned to look at her and raised a brow, and Doreen rolled her eyes. 

“Okay, so maybe your limits are a bit farther out than most peoples’, but I stand by my statement,” she said and crossed her arms. 

“Duly noted,” Jo whispered. She turned to face the more packed side of the room and raised her hands to cup them around her mouth. “Yo, Clinton! You mean the city in Scotland or the city in Brazil?!” 

“Crazy ass SHIELD agents,” Doreen muttered as Jo joined her old teammates. Or are they new teammates now? They’re supposed to be some kind of joint force, right? They should probably work the specifics of that out at some point. For now though, she’s going to enjoy the party.

**.xXx.**

“Someone’s gotta clean this up, and it’s not going to be me.” Jo looked around at the wrecked dining room, at all of the bits of food and mountains of glitter, and shook her head.

“Nope. We’ve got business to attend to.” Jo was leaning against one side of the doorway, and Maria was propped up on the other side. Coulson and May left with their team about twenty minutes ago, so it’s just them now. The Avengers. Well, mostly everyone has gone up to their rooms by now. Steve and Sam are gone, Tony and Pepper are upstairs, Thor’s still in Asgard, but the others are still in the dining room. 

“I’ll clean up. The glitter was my idea,” Darcy said first. 

“Yeah, and I helped so I can clean up,” Skye added. 

“Guess that means I have to clean too,” Doreen sighed. 

“I’ll stay and supervise,” Logan said and let out a rare smile. Jo nodded at that; four people should be enough to clean up a dining room. Bruce walked up to her, and she leaned forward just enough to drop her forehead against his chest. She felt his hand come up and squeeze the back of her neck, and she sighed as some of the tension eased out of her. 

“Do you want JARVIS to alert me when the mental link is done so I can come get you?” He asked it quietly, but it was still loud enough for Maria to hear him. 

“Depends. You wanna cuddle with me all night, Maria?” The hardened agent smirked at her and propped a hand on her hip. 

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten that mission in Alaska. You’re a blanket hog.” Jo’s laugh sounded rough even to her ears, and she felt Bruce’s laugh since she was still leaning against his chest. 

“Yeah, fair enough. Ready to do this?” She straightened up completely, and she saw Maria nod her head. 

“Now or never, right?” 

“Pretty much. See you in a couple of hours.” She felt Bruce’s lips press against her forehead, and she forced her tired body to follow Maria to the elevator. One more mental link and then she’ll rest. She’ll need to rest, because she’s gonna have to dig into the mind of the God of Lies. 

“Come on, Holbrook. Let’s get this over with.” Maria still had the same room on the third floor, which is good because the third floor is pretty much full now. Maria, Skye, and Darcy are on the right side. Logan, Sam, and Doreen are on the other side. 

“Just don’t fight me, okay?” She sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed and closed her eyes as Maria went ahead and changed into her pajamas. It’s a good idea. The agent joined her a few minutes later, and she copied Jo’s sitting position. 

“I trust you.” Jo grinned at that, because it’s always nice to know that someone trusts you enough to completely take over your mind, and she laced her fingers through Maria’s. 

“Alright, here we go.”

**.xXx.**

“Miss Jo is ready for retrieval, Dr. Banner.” He glanced at the ceiling on reflex, something that he’s picked up from Jo, and heard his neck pop. Instead of going up to the lab to work on one of his projects, he stayed downstairs and helped the others cleanup. It didn’t really take all that long, and the girls went up to bed about an hour ago. He’s been sitting in the den with Logan, occasionally talking. Both of them are okay with silence.

“Do you love her?” Bruce was preparing to stand up, to go get Jo and go to bed, but the question caused him to pause. 

“I don’t know. We know everything about each other, good and bad, and she’s still the first thing I want to see in the morning. The last thing I want to see at night. She loves Hulk.” Logan huffed at that, and Bruce turned to look at him. 

“And Hulk loves her?” Bruce nodded, because he knows that the other part of him loves Jo completely. “How can one side of you love her, and the other side not know?”

“I don’t know.”

“I do. Hulk is instinctual, and you think too much. Love isn’t logical, Banner. It just is. Try to keep that in mind.” Bruce took that as the dismissal that it was, and he rode up to the third floor with Logan’s words replaying in his mind. Maria had the first room on the right, and the two women were lying side by side when he walked inside. Maria was still awake, barely, and Jo was out cold. 

“I saw her afterwards, but it was worse than I imagined,” Maria whispered as he bent down to pick Jo up. 

“She looked up to you for never babying her. You treated her like any other agent, and she respected you for it.” He saw that much in Jo’s memories, and Maria smiled tiredly up at him. 

“I respect her too. That’s never changed.” Maria shuffled under her blankets, and Bruce called out a quiet goodnight as he closed the door. Jo was nearly completely limp in his arms, and he had to carefully shift her so that he could open her bedroom door. 

“Mmm, muffins on the side please,” Jo mumbled as he gently laid her on the bed. She’s still wearing her skinny jeans and a black tank top with a purple bow and arrow on it, and he knows that she won’t be comfortable sleeping in that. She grumbled a little as he carefully pulled her jeans off, but she sighed happily when he unhooked her bra and managed to get it off of her without removing her shirt. 

_“Jo’s done too much. Needs more rest.”_ Hulk’s voice was a quiet rumble at the back of his mind, and Jo nuzzled against his chest as he picked her up to pull the blankets back. 

“She just wants to keep everyone safe.” Bruce could have easily answered inside of his own mind, but the words filled the empty room instead. 

“Hulkster keeps me safe. Mmm, want Bruce.” He smiled as Jo sleepily made grabby hands, and he quickly stripped out of his slacks and button-up. Jo immediately curled up to him, arms and legs wrapping completely around him, and he turned his head to rest his cheek against the top of her head. Oranges and the faint metallic scent of blood. 

“I love you.” The words felt right on his tongue, his lips shaped the words with ease, and there was a comforting warmth in his stomach. 

“Love you too, Brucie baby.” The words were muffled against the side of his neck, and Jo was definitely still asleep. Maybe there was something to be said for instincts and subconscious after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing from Thor’s POV is really hard, so I hope I did okay. I really enjoyed writing Skye’s scene, and can we all guess who the mysterious stranger is? Because I know I’m not that subtle.
> 
> Okay, here’s a quick list of the SHIELD Agents just in case you want to google them: Bobbi Morse/Mockingbird, Izzy Hartley, Charles Shaw, Anna Weaver, Leo Fitz, Jemma Simmons, Antoine Triplett, Alphonso Mackenzie, Mike Peterson/Deathlok, and Lance Hunter. They are not going to be regulars in the story, but they might be randomly mentioned throughout since they’re going to be the new core of SHIELD. Once again, nothing like the show, _Agents of SHIELD_.
> 
> My favorite part of this chapter? The ending! I hope it wasn’t too cheesy, because I saw the opportunity while I was writing and took it. I’d love to know everyone’s reactions!


	38. That's Poetic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _blue relates to one-to-one communication_
> 
> _especially communication using the voice_
> 
> _speaking the truth through verbal self-expression_
> 
> **Psychology of Color**

**September 14, 2014**

“Are the restrains necessary?” Loki stayed immobile, not that he could do much otherwise. Thick manacles were on his ankles and wrists, with chains connecting them, and another muzzle had been placed over his mouth.

“While he is on Asgard and my responsibility, yes. When you return to Midgard, you may do with him as you wish.” Odin was sitting on his throne, and Thor wished his mother was sitting next to him. She would have spoken up for Loki, perhaps even would have said a goodbye, but Odin would not even look at him. Thor did not waste time with any other words; he carefully grabbed Loki’s right forearm and started walking. 

“Are you sure you have chosen the right path, Thor Odinson?” Heimdall was standing guard, always standing guard, and turned to face him. He even looked Loki in the eye. 

“It is the only path that I can see that will restore my brother to me.” Loki was looking down at the ground, and his face was pale and drawn. Never has he seen his brother look so weak. 

“For your sake, I hope so.” Thor tightened his hold on Loki’s arm as he prepared to be sent back to Midgard, and his eyes closed against the bright light. It was time to return.

**.xXx.**

“You sure about this?” They’re on the roof, in lawn chairs, and watching the clear blue sky. After breakfast, Tony asked her to come with him. Jo was expecting the lab, but they went to the roof instead. She’s not sure where all the others went, but she knows that everyone is under the roof that she’s sitting on. That’s good enough for her.

“Sure about delving into the mind of a thousand year old god? No, not at all. Last time I did, I felt like I was being ripped apart. You didn’t see the Loki I did though. Thor loves his brother, Tony, and I can see why. The Loki that you saw, he’s a completely different person. Something about Manhattan doesn’t add up.” It’s been in the back of her mind ever since she saw Thor’s memories, but she’s got so many memories rattling in her head that it’s hard to focus sometimes. 

“The Loki I saw was bent on world domination.” Tony’s wearing loose jeans and a tee shirt, but she’d bet that the sunglasses he’s wearing cost more than her entire wardrobe. 

“I’m not so sure about that.” Thor’s memories of Loki and everyone else’s just didn’t mesh well; Coulson’s last memory of him really shook her. The god had been so pale, his blue hands had shook above Coulson’s body, and he’d looked…not afraid. Resigned. That was before the actual battle, before the Chitauri invasion began, so the look didn’t make any sense. None of it made any sense. 

“I guess we’ll find out soon.” The clouds above them were starting to darken and swirl together, and a streak of lightning lit up the sky. A moment later, a gust of wind and light shot straight down onto the roof. When Jo could see again, Thor was standing in the center of a bunch of lines and Loki was kneeling at his feet. 

“Now that’s what I call an entrance.” Jo looked over at the new voice, and she noticed that Doreen was walking along the edge of the roof. “What? I was lounging on a tree branch when my sunlight disappeared, and I got curious. Hey, Thor! Hey, uh, Loki? Why is he wearing a muzzle?”

“My father is a cautious man.” Thor reached down towards the back of Loki’s head, and Tony called out. 

“Maybe we should leave it on? Just until we know…whatever it is that you two think you’re going to find.” He looked between her and Thor, and Jo gets Tony’s hesitation. Loki did throw him out of a window, and he was instrumental in creating one of Tony’s worst nightmares. (Sometimes, she can still see the expanse of space and drowns in the feeling of knowing that this is the end.)

“You believe in him?” Thor helped Loki to his feet, and Doreen carefully moved around the smaller god until she was standing in front of him. Doreen slowly reached up, and her small fingers made quick work of the buckles on the muzzle. The thing fell to the rooftop and bounced a little, and Doreen kicked at it. She turned to watch it roll, and she looked up to meet Tony’s eyes. 

“No one should be muzzled. It’s inhumane, and that’s not who we are,” she said quietly. 

_“She’s an animal!”_

_“Probably has rabies!”_

_“Should put a muzzle on her!”_

_“Put her down!”_

Jo shook her head to clear it of Doreen’s memories, and those old memories hurt. People are cruel, humans and mutants alike, and Doreen wasn’t spared from that cruelty. Just because she has a tail, a really long tail that’s nearly four feet long, but it’s fluffy. Jo thinks it’s cute. So she’s not surprised at Doreen’s actions, because she understands the motivations. The only problem is that she gets Tony’s side too, and everything is confusing. Tony didn’t argue though; he just nodded at Doreen and stuffed his hands in his pockets. It was his way of agreeing with Doreen, without actually having to say anything, and Jo rocked up onto her toes to meet Thor’s eyes. 

“I believe in you, Thor, and you believe that he can still be saved.” The god smiled at her, just a little, and Jo walked up to stand next to Doreen. Wow, Loki is really not looking good. That’s saying something coming from her too, because she isn’t looking like a beauty queen right now. 

“Have they been feeding him?” In Thor’s memories, Loki was always tall and thin, but not like this. This is unhealthy. 

“He refuses all forms of nourishment.” Thor sounded absolutely gutted about Loki’s state, and Jo felt her own heart clench. 

What if this was Anna Marie? Which in some twisted way, it was. At her worst, Anna Marie hid from people and stopped eating. Jo remembers the girl screaming at Logan, she was only ten years old, that it wasn’t suicide if her body just gave up. Jo had cried, grabbed the girl’s hand and lost some of her own vitality, and told her that wasn’t how family works. If family noticed and did nothing, they were just as good as committing murder, and Jo wasn’t a murderer. (Oh, the irony.) It had worked though. After that, Jo touched Anna Marie more. Made sure her sleeve was covering her hand before placing it on the younger girl’s shoulder or ruffling her hair, but she _needed_ to show her that they were family. And family, well…

“Family takes care of each other.” She made sure to look right into Loki’s eyes, and they were such a dull…hazel. Loki’s eyes should be green, a vibrant green, close to Natasha’s shade. (But not quite as beautiful, because, come on. It’s Black Widow.) “Thor is our family now, Loki. Did he tell you that I pray to him? Pretty frequently actually.”

Loki looked away from her and slightly tilted his head to look at his brother and raised a brow, as if to ask, _“Really?”_

“Not many mortals pray to us anymore. I can always hear Jo when she prays for me, and she speaks the truth, brother. We are family, and I will take care of you.”

“We will take care of you,” Jo corrected. 

“Or die trying!” Doreen added and threw a fist in the air. 

“I will not die trying, but I am willing to help you,” Tony said and gave a little wave in the background. When everyone turned to look at him, he just shrugged. “Family, yeah, whatever. You’re still reading his mind on the roof though. I don’t want him in the house until we know we can trust him.”

“Considering what Loki put half of those people through, I’d say that’s fair. Just this once. That, and Clint might try to shoot him if we bring him in.” Clint’s come a long way since what happened with Loki, but he’s still carrying scars. Mental ones, but those are the ones that hurt the most sometimes. 

“I would say that is fair. Are you ready to continue?” Thor asked her. The big guy is so nice and understanding, and she really hopes that this works out. She really does. 

“Ready! Loki, if you don’t mind, we’re going to sit down now. I’m going to do my best to look into your mind and read your memories. Considering how old you are, it might take me some time to sort through everything. Are you okay with that?” The younger god nodded, once, but there was a small quirk to his lips that said he knew something she didn’t. That’s not good. Jo lowered herself to the ground right there, and Loki did the same thing. He somehow managed it to do it with more grace, despite his clearly weakened state. Then again, she’s still feeling a little weak herself. Thor sat next to him, and Jo could see Doreen standing next to Tony off to the side. 

“Good luck!” Doreen called out to both of them. Jo waved and then turned to lock her eyes with Loki’s again. The color is still off. 

“I’m still learning when it comes to telepathy, but I’m getting really good!” Loki’s face had looked a little skeptical, so she wanted to reassure him. “It’s just easier for me if I’m actually touching the person. Do you mind if I hold your hands?”

Instead of actually answering, Loki held out his shackled hands. She hated the look of the thick manacles and the sound that the chains made, because she remembers what it was like to be chained. She reached forward and cupped their palms, and she was amazed at the way his long fingers wrapped completely around her hands. She’s not saying she has gorilla hands or anything, but her hands are a little larger than the average woman’s. It was impressive. She noticed his eyes slowly close, and his dark lashes looked so pretty against his pale skin. Would probably look even better if he had some color in his cheeks. She closed her eyes as well and slowly expanded her mind. 

The first thing she noticed was the cold. The start of his mind was cold, freezing even, but just past that it felt like everything was on fire. She could see glimpses, but trying to focus on them was like trying to catch smoke. It’s like everything in his mind was hidden by a giant blue wall, and it pushed back every time she got close. So, naturally, she pushed harder. She could see images of Loki the harder she pushed, but they were so unclear. Blurry at the edges. The screams though, those she could hear clearly. Screams that echoed under it all, that slipped from beneath the wall, because Loki is calling out to her. Calling out to anyone that will listen.

_“You are too late, little telepath. Your skill could never match mine. You’re too weak. This one… **IS MINE**!”_

Jo heard herself screaming as she was pushed backwards, pushed out by whoever was holding onto Loki’s mind, and the mental pulse was so strong that she immediately blacked out.

**.xXx.**

“My mouth tastes like cotton,” she groaned out. She felt hands sweeping across her face and then tipping her head up, and she felt a plastic straw poke against her bottom lip. Her lips immediately parted, and she quickly sucked the liquid down. She didn’t care what it was at that point, but she was glad that it was water. Once she felt rehydrated enough, she opened her eyes and smiled at Bruce with the straw pinched between her teeth.

“You really had me worried for a moment,” he said quietly. The cup was placed on the bedside table, because they’re in her room, and it took her a moment to remember everything that happened. Well, everything that happened until her mind completely blacked out. 

“What happened?” Bruce grabbed her arms so she that she could sit up, and she immediately slumped forward to rest her forehead on his chest. Bruce gathered her up in his arms, so that she wound up straddling him while he sat cross-legged in the middle of her bed, and she wrapped her arms around his neck so that her fingers could sink into his hair. She could feel his hands under her shirt, which she realized was one of his blue button-ups. It’s odd, because she was wearing one of Tony’s many tank tops and a pair of her own jeans for once. Now she’s just in Bruce’s shirt and her panties. How long was she out?

“Tony said something formed between you and Loki, like a force field, and it forced you apart. Thor was able to grab Loki. Tony was too far to reach out, and Doreen tried but she couldn’t reach you. Even if she had, you were too close to the roof’s edge. She would have fallen with you, and her broken bones wouldn’t have healed as fast as yours.”

“Broken bones? And was the force field blue?”

“Spine, near the base of your skull. It took some time for your spinal cord to heal and for your breathing to return. There was also a skull fracture, but the placement makes no sense. It was the at the front of your skull, but you landed on your back. And, yes, the force field was blue. Did you see it?”

Bruce’s thumbs are smoothing across her forehead, probably where her skull was fractured, but she knows it wasn’t the fall that made her unconscious. Whatever was in Loki’s mind is what tossed her over the edge of the roof, and she’s got a feeling that it’s what fractured her skull. Even now, she can still hear Loki’s screams and that voice that forced her out. She asked for JARVIS to link the next part of their conversation to Tony, and she told them both everything that happened. She wasn’t able to see what Loki’s been up to, because someone is in his mind. Someone has taken him over, but he’s fighting. He’s been forced into silence, and they can’t leave him like this. Even if it does turn out that he’s evil and wants to rule the world, they can’t leave him like that. 

_“What’s the plan, sweetheart?”_ She met Bruce’s eyes, and she smiled at him. There’s only one plan that she can think of, because the voice was right. She’s not strong enough, but she knows someone that is. 

“The plan,” she said out loud for both of them to hear, “is to take him to the Professor. I’m going to call him, tell him of the situation, and then we’ll see where we go from there. Because it was right; I’m not strong enough to drive him out. I need help.”

_“Thor and Loki are still on the roof. I think Loki’s still unconscious. I’ll tell Thor the plan. Talk quickly, Jo.”_

“JARVIS? Can you call the professor for me, please?” Her thighs are locked around Bruce’s waist, her arms are still around his shoulders, and her head’s ducked down so that she can listen to his heartbeat. Right now, he’s the only thing that’s keeping her together. 

“Right away, Miss Jo.”

“This morning was good, wasn’t it?” she asked. Bruce laughed; she felt the exhale of air next to her ear, and felt the way his chest expanded against hers. 

She’d woken up with Bruce’s head between her thighs, alternating between teasing nips and soothing licks to the delicate skin of her inner thighs, until she woke up fully and begged for more. He kept her on the edge until she was nearly crying, but she didn’t fall over the edge until he pushed inside her. Then he held still, waited until her body had stopped shaking, and then began to move. It was almost exactly like their first time. Laced fingers had pushed against the pillows, and Jo made sounds that barely sounded human until she crested for the second time. Then there was their extra-long shower, where Bruce had to carry her out because her legs couldn’t hold her up anymore. 

“Yeah, it was.” Three orgasms before breakfast. Today should have been a good day. It should have been a good day. 

“How can I help you today, Josephine?” It’s a good thing that the Professor can’t see her, because she’s not letting go of Bruce. She’s not. 

“Well, sir, I promised an Asgardian to help his brother, but it didn’t go as planned. When I tried to enter his mind…” And so the explanation went.

**.xXx.**

The whole mansion was abuzz with the new news; Thor and Loki are currently confined to their rooftop, Loki and Jo are unconscious, and everyone is a little on edge. Okay, completely on edge. They’re all packed into the den, and Skye’s sure that confining themselves to one room is slowly driving them all crazy. Clint disappeared a few minutes ago, by jumping up into an air vent and silently scurrying away. Sam, Steve, and Maria are sitting very close together and whispering to each other. Skye’s pretty sure that’s not a good thing. Logan is pacing, like some kind of caged animal, and muttering about aliens. Natasha is curled up in a chair, in a way that looks a little painful, and keeps watching Logan’s movements. She’s been sitting next to Darcy, silently, for the past ten minutes and is slowly losing her mind.

“That’s it! I’m going to see Thor!” Well, it looks like Darcy cracked first. Or did Clint crack first when he retreated into the air vents? Or Logan, when he started pacing? Maria tried to call out to her, but Darcy used her hand to slash the air behind her and just kept on walking. Logan even watched her go, but he eventually stopped staring at the empty entrance and started pacing again. Yeah, she’s going crazy. 

“I’m gonna go…somewhere that isn’t here,” she finally muttered and got to her feet. Thankfully, no one stopped her as she left the den and walked out the front door. She didn’t even think about where she was going, but her subconscious clearly knew where she wanted to be. 

“Back again so soon?” The stranger’s voice was a little rough, and she huffed as she dropped down onto the other end of the bench. There’s still a horse’s ass in front of her, but she can deal with that because she likes the company. Even if the company doesn’t have a name…or if she doesn’t know what his face looks like. 

“Things at home are a little tense. Some fresh air sounded good.” He nodded, like that made perfect sense, and she realized he was writing something. It was a normal notebook; one of the thicker ones for five subjects, and he was writing quickly in one of the middle sections. 

“Everything going to be okay?” He asked the question without looking away from his notebook, and he’s got it positioned so that she can’t see anything that he’s writing. 

“I hope so. Things in that house are always a little crazy, so I think it’s a normal thing.” She laughed a little, because she is starting to believe that the Avengers Mansion is always a little crazy and tense. “I’ve been thinking of asking one of my…friends to help me out. You know, teach me self-defense and stuff.”

“Self-defense?” He’s still wearing that blue cap, one that looks like it’s been through the ringer, but it does a really good job of hiding his face. 

“A girl’s gotta know how to protect herself.” She’d taken a basic self-defense class in college, but that hadn’t prepared her for someone shooting her. Or for someone…well, for someone like Viper. The stranger was patting down his pockets, because he’s wearing cargo pants, and he hummed after a second. He pulled out a knife, a really long knife, and held it out to her handle first. 

“Umm, am I supposed to take that?” He nodded, and she slowly let her fingers wrap around the handle. She noticed something on the edge of the sheath that the knife was in, and a gloved finger reached out to tap it. 

“Tuck it into your boot. That’s the clip.” She looked down, and she really was wearing boots. Mid-calf. She leaned forward and slipped the sheath into the inside of her boot, and the clip seemed to blend in with her boot. No one would know it was there, unless they were looking really-really hard. 

“Do you know how to use it?” The question startled her, because she’d been looking at her boot, and she looked across the bench. This would be so less frustrating if she could just see his face!

“You, uh, stab people with the pointy end?” That’s how knives work. Or you just slash at them and hope that you hit something important. The stranger shook his head, and she held still as a gloved hand reached towards her. It was his right hand instead of his left, which was actually closer to her, so he was reaching across his body to grab her right hand. 

“Aim here.” He pressed two of her fingers against the side of his neck, where she could feel a steadily beating pulse, and the stubble on his neck made her fingertips tingle. 

“Go for the neck, got it.”

“Or here.” This time he moved her hand down and pressed her palm flat high up against his ribs. “Up and at an angle. That will get the heart.”

“Heart, okay.”

“Or here.” He pressed her palm flat against the lower part his stomach, and she realized that was solid muscle under there. It was hard to tell his body type because of all the baggy layers, but she’s feeling muscle. “Here, push in and twist. If you can, pull up or to one of the sides. It won’t kill them immediately, but it’ll give you time to get away.”

“Uh, thanks for all the killing advice?” He let her hand go, and she let it drop into her lap. She’d liked the way her hand felt in his, even with the gloves. His hand was so much bigger than hers, but he’d been so gentle. Like he didn’t want to scare her. 

“A girl’s gotta know how to protect herself.” She let out an obviously fake laugh as he threw her words back at her, and she thought she saw his cheek twitch. Oh yeah, he thinks she’s hilarious. She twisted around on the bench so that she was fully facing him, rusty metal pressing into the small of her back, and brought her feet up to rest on the bench. 

“So whatcha writing?” She thought about leaning over and trying to take a peek, but that seemed rude. Invasive. Everyone’s entitled to their own private thoughts, right? (Unless you do a mental link with a telepath, but she’s got a feeling that’s not the norm for most of the population.)

“About how the sunlight brings out the lighter tones in your hair.” He said it in the most deadpanned voice she’s ever heard, and she stretched her leg out to lightly kick at his thigh. This time she knows that she saw him smile, she could see the small dimple that appeared on his stubbly cheek, and he used his thigh to push back against her foot. 

“No, really, what are you writing? It looks important.” His hand moves so fast across the page, like he’s desperately trying to write everything down before he forgets something. 

“I’m working on a book, about my life.” She thought about doing that once, but then she realized that she didn’t really have anything to write about. Maybe she does now, but she doesn’t want to. What she knows now, not all of it is hers to tell. 

“Will I see it in a bookstore someday?” This time he laughed, really laughed, and it was a beautiful sound. She’s never thought of a guy’s laugh as beautiful. Normally guys laugh too loud, like they’re forcing it, or they try to be seductive. Key word, try. The stranger? He laughed like it was a free sound, just for the two of them. 

“I doubt it. It’s more for me than for anyone else,” he finally answered. Huh, well, most people write books because they want the world to read them. Tony babbles around writing an autobiography someday, and she’s sure that’ll sell like crazy. Who knows? Maybe the stranger has led a life interesting enough to intrigue others. 

“What about me? Can I read it someday?” Without realizing it, she’d tucked the toe of her boots under his thigh. Either he has really poor observational awareness, or he’s okay with it. 

“When it’s finished, and if you really want to, maybe.” He shrugged, and she could hear his many layers rustling again. 

“I’m gonna hold you to that, stranger. Now, I should probably head back before someone gets worried and sends out a search party. Wanna walk me home?” She asked the question as she stood up, and all she could really see was the top of that damned blue cap and the width of his shoulders. Either the layers are really helping him out, or his shoulder ratio is looking pretty good. 

“I can walk you.” He pulled a backpack from behind him, which would explain why he’d been sitting forward a little, and he carefully placed the notebook inside. She couldn’t see what else was inside, he moved too fast, and he made sure that he wasn’t facing her when he stood up. She did, however, notice that he buckled the backpack so that the straps went over his shoulders and also buckled across his chest. Like he was worried about losing it. 

“So, what’s your favorite color?” They’ve only been walking for about five minutes, and Skye’s totally cool with the silence but a little conversation never hurt anyone. 

“Blue.” He’s walking on her left, a little behind her, and the urge to spin on her heel and look directly up at his face was very tempting. Instead she kept walking forward and tried to ignore the light extra weight on her right boot. 

“That’s such a boring answer. Just blue?” 

“What’s your favorite color?” It sounded a little snarky and a lot like a challenge, and she exaggerated the way that her arms swung next to her sides. 

“I like that violet color, right after a big rainstorm. When the sun just starts to come back out? Parts of the sky are still blue and gray, but there’s always this subtle violet color mixed in too. That’s my favorite color.” She must have swung her arms a little too much, because he caught her left hand in his right, probably before she could accidently smack him. 

“I like the blue of the sky on clear days. No rain, not too many clouds, just a pure blue sky. A color so blue that you could get lost in it.” Oh, wow, that was actually kind of romantic. And they’re holding hands. She’s holding hands with a stranger who claims not to be homeless, but she’s starting to have her doubts. 

“See? That’s not boring. That’s poetic. Oh my God, are you writing a book of poetry?” His gloved fingers tightened around her palm, because they’re holding hands like preschoolers without lacing their fingers or anything, and he’s still walking a little behind her. 

“I don’t do poetry.” He sounded a little gruff, like she insulted his manliness, and she couldn’t help her laughter. 

“Okay, no poetry, got it.” Unfortunately, they reached the mansion way earlier than they did the last time. They also went a completely different way than any other time she’s taken this route, so he must know a shortcut. 

“Take care of yourself, okay?” His hat was pulled down again to shield his face, and they’re still a block from the mansion itself. 

“I’ve got a knife and know where to stick it. I’ll be just fine.” She punched the right side of his chest on reflex, since her hand is now free, and he even staggered back a step even though she knows that he’s solid enough to not move. He raised his hand in an awkward wave, and she waved back until he was out of sight. For some stranger that she keeps running into on a bench, he’s pretty cool.

**.xXx.**

“Thor! Wow, he is not looking so good, huh?” Thor was sitting on a lawn chair, Doreen was sitting next to him, and Loki was laid out on another lawn chair.

“Tony told you what happened?” Darcy slowly nodded, because Tony did update them before retreating to his lab, and Darcy slowly walked over so that she could sit on Thor’s other side. Pepper told her that she could just stay in the mansion today, that she could pick up on work tomorrow, and she was glad that Pepper could tell that she wanted to be there for Thor. Technically speaking, she’s known him the longest. He’s the whole reason that she’s here. The reason that all of this has happened to her. She owes the big guy, and she loves him in her own way. Like a big brother. 

“Tank’s fine. JARVIS told us she’s conscious and currently seeking reinforcements. Loki’s gonna be fine.” Doreen’s voice sounded so sure, so optimistic, and Darcy wanted to believe her. She wasn’t in Manhattan when everything went down, but she saw the news like everyone else. What Loki did, what he tried to do…she’s not sure if everyone will be able to forgive him. Especially Clint. Loki brainwashed him, for crying out loud. Used him. 

“If anyone can figure this out, it’s Jo,” Darcy said and reached up to grab Thor’s shoulder. Loki was still currently unconscious, and that may be for the best. For now, at least. 

After several very tense minutes, the roof door opened and three people walked out. Tony was front and center, unsurprisingly, and Jo and Bruce were behind him. Jo was wearing a pair of her own gray skinny jeans and some very heavy looking boots, and Darcy realized that the button up she was wearing was Bruce’s. The sleeves were rolled up nearly to her elbows and left unbuttoned, and there was a black tank top under it with an Ironman face on it. Bruce was fully dressed as well, in black slacks and a green button-up. Him and Jo both had bags in their hands, but Tony didn’t. He was just wearing jeans and a tee shirt, and he was barefoot. So, where are Jo and Bruce going?

“I talked to Professor Xavier. He has given us permission to bring Loki to the School. Together, the Professor and I will try to enter Loki’s mind. The Professor is the strongest telepath alive, and he can be trusted. Plus, I’ll be there every step of the way. Bruce is coming too, because there’s a good chance that I’ll be knocked unconscious at some point. The Professor knows that you will not leave your brother, so you’re being permitted to come as well, Thor. Just us four though.”

“Loki will be safe?” Thor asked after Jo’s speech. 

“No harm will come to him. That’s not how the Professor works.” Darcy can remember bits and pieces of the Professor from Jo’s memories, but some of those memories are starting to fade. She knows that he’s a good man though; that he believes in doing the right thing. 

“Then we will go.” Thor stood up, and Darcy tipped her head back to look up at him. He’s still in all of his Asgardian gear, and he really does look like a god. 

“Thought you’d say that.” Tony snapped his fingers, and a jet appeared on one side of the roof. “Reflectors. Makes it look invisible. Because I am that awesome.”

“And full of yourself,” Jo muttered. Tony blew a kiss at her, which she pretended to catch and push down into her pocket. Those two are still the weirdest people she’s ever met. 

“Alright, let’s say our goodbyes. Group hug!” Doreen yelled. She managed to wrap an arm around Thor’s waist, and the god wrapped an arm around her shoulders. His other arm went around Darcy’s waist, and she closed her eyes as he pressed a kiss against the top of her head. Across from them, Tony had an arm hooked around Jo’s neck and another hooked around Bruce’s neck. Darcy could even hear the noisy kiss he pressed against both of their cheeks. 

“We’ll be back before you know it,” Jo said as she grabbed Darcy in a hug. Once she was released, Darcy moved forward and gave Bruce a hug. He looked a little surprised when she pulled back, and she laughed just a little. 

“What? You’re like my step-dad, so you get a goodbye hug too,” she said and shrugged. Bruce was blushing, just a little, and he mumbled out a thank-you. 

“Doreen! Keep an eye on everyone, yeah?!” Jo yelled. Thor has Loki in his arms now and is almost to the jet, and who’s going to fly the jet exactly?

“You got it, tankster!” Doreen called back. 

“The jet mostly runs on autopilot, which I’ve already set up, but I’ll be driving it. Don’t worry, sweetheart. Just do what you gotta do and hurry home. That goes for you too, Bruce,” Tony said as he followed Jo and Bruce to the jet. Jo nodded and kissed him on the cheek, and Bruce smiled when Tony grabbed his shoulder and shook him a little. 

Darcy stood between Doreen and Tony as the jet took off, and it’s a little mind-boggling that Tony is flying the jet with his brain. Weirder things have happened though, so she’s not going to dwell on it. Instead, she’s going to say a quiet prayer that everything turns out okay. For Thor’s sake, and for Jo’s. For all of theirs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loki is officially in the story! The next chapter will explain the weirdness going on in his head, and there will be several X-Men appearances since they’ll be at the school. I can’t pick a favorite part of this chapter, because I had fun writing all of it, but Skye’s interactions with the “mysterious stranger” are going to be very important.
> 
> Also, I’ve been looking at the timeline, and I’ve realized that this story is going to be insanely long. It’s already over 200,000 words and getting really close to 600 pages on Word, and I’m not even sure if I’m halfway through. So if you’re still reading this, THANK YOU! We’ve still got a ways to go, but I promise it’s going to be a fun ride.
> 
> I’ve decided to do _Age of Ultron_ and _Civil War_ , but many things will be changed. For example, no Bruce-Natasha subplot. I think that would make things awkward. _Civil War_ is going to be tricky, and I might speed up the timeline a little. In the movie universe, the two movies take place a year apart. Would anyone be upset if I had them happen back-to-back? With maybe only a month or so between them?
> 
> One last thing before I go…Peter Parker/Spiderman. I’m not really sure if I want to bring him into the story. If I do, it’ll probably be Andrew Garfield’s Spiderman. From a reader standpoint, would that be okay? (I’m also not sure if I can write a story that includes both Deadpool and Spiderman without writing Spideypool, so that’s a possibility as well.)
> 
> PS: If you haven’t seen _Dr. Strange_ yet, please go see it. I was a little unsure about it to start with, but it definitely won me over. And, for the love of Thor, stay for the end credits!


	39. One, Two, Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _give me liberty_
> 
> _or_
> 
> _give me death!_
> 
> **Patrick Henry**

“So, they’re gone, huh?” Skye asked as she dropped onto the stool next to Darcy. Her sister, her twin sister, was sitting on one of the kitchen stools with her chin propped up on her raised fists. She was the perfect picture of desolation, and Skye wanted to cheer her up. She knows that Darcy loves Thor, and Thor loves her, so she knows this isn’t easy for her. Darcy also loves Jo, in some weird mixture of a maternal and older sister way, so she’s worried about her too. Skye’s just starting to warm up to the older woman, and even she’s worried about her. She doesn’t look as healthy as she did in all of Skye’s memories, _those_ memories notwithstanding. 

“Gone to the Professor’s school. Jo said he’s the strongest telepath alive, so he should be able to help.” Skye lightly nudged Darcy’s arm with her elbow, and one side of Darcy’s lips twitched. It’s close to a smile. 

“Then we don’t have anything to worry about. I give it three days max, and they’ll all be back. It’ll be like they never even left. In the meantime, we should entertain ourselves.” Later, if she can ever catch Natasha alone, she’s gonna ask the female assassin to help her with her new abilities. She saw how Darcy made Jo test her, so that’s what she’ll do too. 

“Entertain ourselves how?” Darcy had her fist pressed against her cheek, and it’s hard to tell they’re related sometimes. Sometimes it’s hard to tell that they’re twins. They don’t look much alike, except for maybe their hair. 

“Well, Clint escaped into the air vents. We could always go hunt him down.” Darcy’s eyes lit up at the suggestion, and Skye can see the resemblance now. They both love a little mischief. 

“I know a back way to his favorite spot. Come on!” Darcy grabbed her hand and started pulling on her, and Skye laughed without questioning why Darcy knew where Clint’s favorite hiding spot was. She’s just glad that Darcy’s smiling again.

**.xXx.**

“Hey, Bruce?” It’s a little weird to be in a jet without an actual pilot, but she knows that it’s actually JARVIS flying the jet. Not just because there’s a sticker next to the controls that says, _JARVIS Is My Co-Pilot_.

“Hmm?” He’s leaning back in his seat, with his eyes closed, but Jo knows he’s not asleep. He’s squeezing her hand a little too hard to be asleep. 

“I want to talk to Tony, but I want you to listen in too. I’ve never done two of these at once, so let me know if you lose some of the transmission.” His eyes opened at that, and she’ll never get over the way that his eyes seem to light up whenever they meet hers. It makes her stomach tie up in knots and turns her knees into jelly. 

“You can do it,” he said quietly. Loki is strapped to a flat surface, like a table, because he’s still unconscious. Thor is sitting at his side, so it’s just her and Bruce on this side of the jet. 

_“Tony, can you hear me?”_

_“Loud and clear. Aren’t you on the jet?”_

_“About halfway there. Bruce is here too, I think.”_

_“I’m here.”_ In the back of her mind, it was like both of their doors were wide open. She can see and feel everything, which was almost too much since their genius brains don’t really know how to move at a normal pace, but they’re focusing on her right now which is helping. 

_“Well, that’s new. Is this just some experimentation, or do I have something else to worry about?”_ Tony sounds flippant, he always sounds flippant, but she can feel the ripples of worry coming out of his door. 

_“I’ve been thinking, when I’m actually conscious, that we all need help. I know none of us want it, every member of the team thinks that they can handle themselves, but they can’t. I’ve seen all of you, every part of you, and I know the truth. Without help, we’ll fall apart.”_ She was a little surprised at the strength of her mental voice, because it’s normally so quiet. Even when she’s in the same room as who she’s talking to telepathically. Maybe the mental links really are making them stronger. Making her stronger. 

_“What do you suggest?”_ Bruce asked when Tony stayed quiet. Yeah, Tony needs just as much help as any of them. She’s helped him, been there for him, and loved him in a way that helped him heal…but there’s still so much left unresolved. She might be one kickass best friend, but she’s not a therapist. 

_“Tony, I want you to talk to Sam. He’s got experience with counseling soldiers with PTSD. Superheroes with PTSD are a little different, but he’s the most qualified among us. If he says no, respect his decision immediately and find someone else. I’ll clear them when I get back. The therapy doesn’t have to be mandatory, but it’s encouraged. Fuck, Tony, you wouldn’t believe half the things I’ve seen. If we don’t get help, we’re going to fall apart. I don’t want that to happen. I want to make our family stronger, don’t you?”_

_“It couldn’t hurt, and Jo’s right. We’ve all been through…things, that we never learned to accept. The things we bury eventually come back to haunt us,”_ Bruce added. Jo loved him just a little for that, for backing her up when she knows that the thought of telling someone that he thinks of as a stranger all of his misdeeds scares him. Scares him, but not enough to make him run. Never again. She squeezed his hand a little harder and dropped her head onto his shoulder. 

_“You’re not wrong, sweetheart. I know about your therapy sessions with Cap, but it’s going to get worse now that Bucky is back. I can’t even imagine what the assassins have been through, because I’m keeping their files as confidential as I can. As for you and Bruce, neither of you ever talked to a professional either. Maria’s been an agent forever, so there’s bound to be some issues there. Darcy and Skye had their entire lives turned upside down, so I’m sure they need someone to really talk it out to. I guess, I guess I could use a good rant from time to time. Especially since the Doc isn’t the best listener.”_

_“Told you I wasn’t that kind of doctor,”_ Bruce was quick to defend. 

_“So you’ll talk to Sam?”_ It’s best to keep them on track, and she can feel a small headache building in her temples. 

_“On my way right now. Love you, sweetheart! Love you in a manly way, Brucie Bear!”_ The door that just felt like Tony, like metal and bubbles oddly enough, closed. Bruce’s door, which felt like warmth and tasted green, closed next.

“So, good idea or recipe for disaster?” she whispered. Thor already looks worried enough; she’ll bring up the idea of therapy to him once they know how everything with Loki is going to go. 

“I think it’s a good idea, and I think we can trust Sam.” Coming from Bruce, who has a natural distrust of strangers for some damned good reasons, that’s pretty big. 

“If he says yes.”

“I have a feeling that he will.” Bruce smiled down at her, and she leaned up to give him a quick kiss. Then she snuggled down against his chest and daydreamed about their magical morning until she had to face reality again.

**.xXx.**

“Wilson! Falcon! Samster! Mind if I call you Sam?” He’d been sitting in the library, in a corner table that he thought was hidden, but it looks like Tony Stark found him. He shouldn’t be surprised. This is Stark’s house after all.

“If those are my only options, Sam is just fine.” Sunglasses were peeking out of his wild hair, and this is not the billionaire that Sam has seen plastered all over magazines and grinning in press conferences. 

“Sam, I have a proposition for you.” Tony pulled out the only other chair at the table, since there are only two, and Sam slowly laid his book down. So much for a quiet day. 

“My price is high, even for you.” Tony’s brown eyes widened, just for a moment, and he threw his head back in a loud laugh. His entire upper body shook with the sound, and it’s a good sound. 

This is the Tony Stark that Jo built from the ground up. She waited until there was nothing left of the old Tony Stark, waited until he was more of a ghost than anything else, and then she shattered him. Or, better yet, she let him shatter her. Showed him what he could become, and he broke. Every last piece of him fell apart, and Jo swept up the pieces and glued him back together. She dusted off the broken pieces, smoothed away the edges, and helped him be better. Tony was already trying to be a better man before Jo came along, but he was lost in the darkness. Jo was like a lighthouse; she led him away from the darkness. 

“Maybe in my younger years, but I’m a one-woman man now. No, what I need from you is something different. Something even more intimate.” He looks a little dirty. There’s grease in his hair, messing up those no-doubt expensive sunglasses, and a smudge of grease is on his chin and in his goatee. His tee shirt has sweat stains, and there’s holes in his jeans. This isn’t Tony Stark-genius, billionaire, playboy (formerly), philanthropist. This is Tony. Just any other man. 

“What do you need?” Sam’s book was turned face-down in front of him, and he leaned his elbows on the table so that he could lean forward. 

“It was Jo’s idea, actually, since she’s been in all of our heads. For the record, I believe her. She thinks that we all need help. Counseling. Out of all of us, you’re the most qualified. You can say no, and I’ll look for someone else. Just, stating for the record though, I think people would trust you more.”

“Everyone, everyone?” Sam asked. This house isn’t close to being empty, and he’s sure they’ve got a large range of problems. He saw enough in Jo’s memories, even if those memories are starting to fade a little. 

“Well, we all know that my life has been out of the norm. That’s including the stuff out of the news as well. You know Jo’s past. She never saw anyone, never really talked to anyone about what happened. Bruce…he cut himself off from the world, literally, and stayed on the run for years. Clint, Natasha, Maria…they’re all high-ranking SHIELD agents that have both done and seen things. Steve…I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know as much about the guy as I should, but Jo’s worried about him since Bucky came back. Doreen, apparently, hasn’t had it easy and could use some help getting used to being part of a team. Darcy and Skye have had their entire lives turned upside down; they’ve gone from having nothing as humans to discovering family as mutants. I don’t know about Thor; it depends on how things go down at the Professor’s mansion. It’s a lot to take in, and I know it’ll be a big responsibility. If you say no, only Jo and I will know.”

He’s never seen Tony Stark hold such a straight face for such a long time, but the man is completely serious. This isn’t something where he doesn’t care about the answer or the outcome. The people in this house, they’re becoming a family. A team and a family, but they’ll fall apart if they don’t get help. People can only repress and hold back for so long; he learned that the hard way. He’s seen it in veterans that he counseled, and he saw it in himself. He has the ability to help all of these amazing people, and how can he say no? How can he turn them down when they’ve taken him in?

“Yeah, I’ll do it. I’ll work up a schedule, and we can talk to everyone after dinner maybe?” Tony’s smile was real. It wasn’t some slick smirk meant to appease a crowd or make a joke to get everyone to laugh; it was real, and it was _raw_. Tony’s already willing to drop some walls. 

“And if you ever need anything, from any of us, come to us. I know Jo knows everything about you, but we’re all here for you. You’re an Avenger now.” Tony grinned as he stood up, and Sam was just a little surprised at the strength of the older man’s grip on his shoulder. Without a second thought, Sam reached up and grabbed Tony’s wrist. 

“I’ll do my best.” Tony looked down at him, looked him right in the eye with his hand still on his shoulder, and nodded. 

“That’s all any of us can ask.”

**.xXx.**

“Josephine, it’s been quite a while since these old eyes have looked at your beauty.” The last time his eyes looked at her, she was starving and couldn’t hide behind the weight of her hair. Her eyes had been angry, and her jaw had been clenched as she fought to keep all the voices out.

“You don’t look a day over thirty, sir.” The Professor laughed, a deep chuckle that reminded her of her home away from home, and she looked past him to see the sprawling grounds of the school. Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. She grew up here, learned who she was here, and she hasn’t been able to come back since that young girl (since she) was killed. Strong hands gently reached forward to grab hers, and she looked down into the Professor’s clear blue eyes. Age might have taken a small toll on his body, but his eyes are just as clear as ever. His mind is just as sharp as ever. 

“That girl, the one who walked those halls and played in the fields, she’s still here. She didn’t die, Josephine. She grew up.” Jo knelt so that they were eye-level, and she pressed her forehead against the Professor’s knee. She could feel his hand on the back of her head as tears soaked through his pants leg, and she mourned. Mourned for who she was; mourned for all of her lost dreams of doing her alma mater proud; mourned for that idealistic girl that wanted to save the world. 

“Who you were doesn’t matter, Jo. What matters is who you are now, and I like who you are now.” She let Bruce slowly pull her to her feet, and she leaned back against his strong chest. What happened to her was unfair, but it has shaped her into who she is now. She suffered, but she’s starting to believe that it was worth it. She has Tony, Bruce, Darcy (maybe Skye), Logan, Anna Marie (Remy by extension), and everyone else at the mansion. She has a family, and it’s time to help her family now. 

“Can you see what happened, sir?” She closed her eyes as she felt the Professor press against her mind, and she brought up what happened just that morning on the rooftop. The Professor pulled back in seconds, and she didn’t like the concerned look on his face. 

“Hank!” Dr. McCoy jumped from a high balcony to land behind the Professor, and Jo smiled at one of her old teachers. “Please, escort Thor and Loki to one of the secure labs. Thor, both of you will be safe there and completely unbothered. I want to give Loki a chance to recover before Jo and I try to enter his mind again.”

“Thank you, Professor.” Thor used the title like one would address a king, and he tightened his hold on Loki’s body as he followed after Hank. Once they had disappeared inside of the school’s front doors, the Professor turned to look at her again. 

“Please, follow me inside. You’ve just arrived in time for lunch, and I know there are many people waiting to see you again.” Well, that’s not terrifying in the least. Jo reached down to grab Bruce’s hand, and she could breathe a little easier when his fingers laced through hers. The mansion itself was relatively quiet, but that’s because it’s lunchtime. All of the kids are gonna be in the large backyard, eating and gossiping, and some poor senior mutant is going to be trying to keep them all in line. As for the professors, they’ll be gathered in the dining room. 

“Jo!” Thin arms wrapped around her neck, and she felt one strong arm wrapping around her back. When she looked over, Remy had his other arm wrapped around Bruce’s back. Anna Marie quickly darted forward to hug Bruce as well, and she asked how their trip went. 

“Fast. Apparently, driving a jet without an actual pilot is a lot faster,” Jo said with a quiet laugh. 

_“Not sure if you remember. Anna Marie, codenamed Rogue, is engaged to Remy LeBeau. Also known as Gambit. She teaches history, ethics, and control. She’s also presiding over the newest team of X-Men, with only a little help from the Senior Staff. Remy teaches target practice for students with projectile-based powers. He’s also mentoring his own squad. Calls them the Chevaliers. Stands for knight. Kinda cool, huh?”_ She looked over at Bruce once she was done spewing her thoughts at him, and he smiled at her as she squeezed his hand.

_“Tell me about the others?”_ he asked as more people got up from the table. Anna Marie and Remy were forced to move to the side, and Jo smiled as she greeted her old friends for the first time in years. 

_“Kitty Pryde-Rasputin, or Shadowcat, and her husband Peter Rasputin. Also known as the great Colossus. She teaches French, and she looks after the students that are still too young to join the training squads. Colossus normally just goes where he’s needed, so he’s taking over for Logan right now, who teaches close quarters combat. And is that?!”_

“Is that a baby?!” Kitty was holding a small wiggling bundle in her arms, and Peter had an arm slung over her shoulder and a wide smile on his face. 

“Yes, it is. I’d like you to meet Evan Joseph Pryde-Rasputin. He just turned eight months last week.” When Jo held her arms out, Kitty carefully placed the baby into her arms. The little guy had his father’s pretty blue eyes, but that light brown hair belonged to his mother. She wondered where his height would come from. Kitty’s five-six, which is pretty average, but Peter’s a whole foot taller than her. 

“That’s quite a mouthful,” Jo said and let the little guy pull on her fingers. 

“Yeah, well, you are the one that tricked us into getting together,” Kitty said and rolled her eyes. 

“I didn’t trick you. I locked you in a room that you couldn’t phase out of, that he couldn’t bust out of, and gave you time to talk. Worked, didn’t it?” It hadn’t been easy, finding a room that neither one of them could break out of. 

_“Kitty can phase through anything. There’s nothing that she can’t walk through. Wood, steel, all of it. As for Peter, he can cover his entire body in metal. Locking them up took a lot of planning,”_ Jo thought at Bruce. He was looking down at the baby too, smiling at the little guy, but he flicked his eyes up at her to smile. 

“It is our way of honoring you. Accept it, Josephine,” Peter said and placed a large hand on top of her head. 

“Accepted. Now take him back before I steal him away.” Jo blew kisses to the baby over Kitty’s shoulder as they walked off, and she squared her shoulders as the next set came up to them.

_“Scott Summers, Cyclops, shoots laser beams out of his eyes. Current headmaster even though we all know that the Professor really runs this place, and he also teaches elective leadership and tactics. Also, super douchebag. Jean Grey-Summers, telekinetic among a few other unimpressive things, teaches business and consumer law classes. She also led Logan on for years and then married Scott. We don’t really get along.”_

“Josephine, I never thought I’d see you again,” Jean said with a sweet smile. Scott was standing next to her, but he was being as stoic and as much as a douchebag as always. 

“Unfortunately dreams don’t always come true.” Her eyes narrowed a little at that, but her face quickly smoothed out. 

“We are always happy to host you, Josephine.”

_“She said host. That’s her passive aggressive way of saying that I’m not welcome for an extended stay. Which is cool with me. If I had to live under the same roof as these two, I’d rip the roof apart.”_ Bruce tried not to laugh at her little commentary, even had to reach up with his free hand to cover his mouth and pretend he was coughing, but Jo smiled as the next two reached her. 

“Jo! It has been far too long!” Strong arms wrapped around her neck, and Jo breathed in the scent of a strong wind after a rainstorm and fresh grass. The next arms that caught her were a little thinner, a little rougher, but just as comforting. 

“Much too long, Jo. You must come visit more.” 

_“That’s Ororo Munroe, Storm. Like her name suggests, she controls the weather. She teaches computer science classes. She’s a member of the senior staff, and she acts as a student advisor and liaison for the senior staff. In other words, if you’ve got a problem, go to Ororo. Kurt Wagner, Nightcrawler, teaches most of the arts. Music, art, life sciences, and drama. The blue skin keeps him pretty confined to the mansion, but he can teleport to just about anywhere. He’s the sweetest guy, and I love his German accent.”_

“I’m going to try to. Ororo, while we’re here, I think you should try to talk to Thor. I’m sure he’d love to see your abilities. Maybe even compare notes?”

“Hmm, it would be nice to show off to a god,” the white haired woman mused. 

“And, Kurt? I’ve been knitting this sweater, but I can’t seem to get a cross-stitch just right. Do you think you could help me before I leave?” He bowed his head as he grabbed her hands, and she smiled down at him. 

“It would be my honor.” She kept smiling as he took a step back, until only two were left. One was great…the other not so much. 

“Warren!” She grabbed the tall blonde man as soon as he got close, and she felt his hands lightly patting against her lower back. Like many mutants, his parents told him that he was an abomination. That he was wrong. Well, Jo thinks they’re all idiots. Warren is one of the best people that she’s ever met. 

“It’s good to see you again as well, Jo,” he said quietly as he pulled away. 

“No hug for me?” It’s been years, they’re all adults, and she can act like an adult. She opened her arms, and Bobby carefully stepped forward and wrapped his arms high around her back. Good call. He stepped back, and Jo smiled at both of them. Mostly Warren. 

_“Warren Worthington the Third, Angel. He’s got wings, and they can be used for flight or as weapons. He teaches a class for students with flight powers, and he’s also mentoring the Alpha Squadron. Bobby Drake, Iceman, has a little history with Anna Marie which is why I don’t like him so much. He’s pretty good with his ice powers though, I’ll admit that. He’s a certified public accountant now so he teaches mathematics, finance, and accounting. Hank, or Beast, you remember him? He teaches most of the science classes, and he oversees the curriculum.”_

_“Am I supposed to remember all of that?”_ Bruce asked the question as Warren and Bobby stepped away from them, and everyone was sitting at the long dining room table again. 

_“I’m sure your genius brain can handle it all.”_

“Josephine, Bruce, if you’d like to join us.” Jo met the Professor’s eyes and realized that there were two empty seats, and she shrugged as she looked over at Bruce. He copied the gesture, and it was decided. The Professor was sitting at the head of the table, so Jo let Bruce take the seat on his left. She sat between Bruce and Anna Marie, and Kitty was across the table from her. 

“Bruce, once the Professor and Jo leave to go assess Loki, you should come with me to meet some of the younger students. Secrets don’t really last here, and they were excited to hear that an Avenger was coming to visit,” Ororo said before taking a bite of something…green. Jo couldn’t tell from this distance. 

“As long as the Professor doesn’t mind,” Bruce said and looked over at the man. Jo squeezed his knee under the table, in support, because she’s sure that the kids will love him. 

“Of course not, Dr. Banner.”

“If it’s alright, I’d rather Hulk meet them. I think he’d be better with them than I am.” Bruce said it with a quiet laugh, and Jo moved her hand up just a little bit higher on his leg. He caught her hand before it could reach mid-thigh and laced their fingers together, and she smiled innocently at him. 

“Even better,” the Professor agreed.

“We’ll go right after lunch,” Ororo said and smiled at him. 

“Oh, and Jo?” Jo looked up from the meat that she was happily munching on, because she didn’t realize just how hungry she was until she started eating, and met Peter’s blue eyes. 

“Mhmm?” She would have actually answered, but it’s rude to talk with your mouth full. 

“My sister, Illyana, is visiting. She graduated last year, and she has been searching for her mentor.” Peter sounded worried, and she doesn’t like it when Peter is worried. He’s normally too chill for that kind of thing. 

“A mentor? Another mutant?” No one at the table would meet her eyes, except for Kitty and Peter. 

“During the summers, I allowed her to travel with a woman named Jade Howland. She’s human, but she practices magic. True magic. She was a good mentor for Illyana, kept her centered, but she has been missing since early this summer. The last time Illyana heard from her was in April. We fear the worse, but Illyana holds out hope.” She’s pretty sure she’s never heard Peter say so much at one time, but he is talking about his little sister. Her and Peter are the same age, twenty-eight (she’ll be twenty-eight this year anyway), and Illyana just turned nineteen. It’s a big gap, and she knows that Peter looks after his little sister almost as if she was his daughter. 

“Why do you think I can find her?” she asked after swallowing another huge bite. Geeze, she sure is hungry. Who know all that mental work would make her ravenous?

“Stark’s one of the smartest people on the planet. You telling me he doesn’t have some kind of facial recognition software?” It was Anna Marie that asked it, and Remy was smiling over her shoulder with his cheeks stuffed full. 

“He does have a bad habit of knowing information he shouldn’t, so it wouldn’t surprise me. Make sure Illyana sees me before I leave.” Peter and Kitty both nodded, and that’s good enough for her. She’s not sure if she can actually help the young mutant, but she owes it to Kitty and Peter. They were her closest friends for years, and she completely disappeared on them. Clearly they forgave her, because their little boy has her name. Kind of.

“Come, Josephine. Loki is starting to awaken.” Jo put down her fork with a small pout, and she looked over at Bruce. 

“The people here will take care of you. Try to have some fun, okay?” Her fingers tightened in his curls as she pressed a kiss to the top of his head, and she followed after the Professor. 

It was strange to hear the school so quiet, but they’re heading deep underground. Down to where the walls are reinforced. When they entered a room, Hank stood up to greet them. The chains were removed from Loki’s wrists and ankles, and he’s just wearing a green…tunic. She’s not really sure how else to describe it; she’s pretty sure both Loki and Thor would take offense if she called it a dress. Wires were attached to his forehead, chest, and forearms. They’re monitoring his brain waves and his vitals. To make sure that her and the Professor don’t go overboard. Thor was sitting in a chair on the far side of the bed, and Jo passed by Hank as she walked over to the sitting god. Hank moved to a chair in the corner of the room and picked up a book, and Jo stopped between Thor and Loki. The Professor moved up to Loki’s other side, so that his head was essentially between the two of them. 

“Can you understand me, Loki?” the Professor asked. The silent god slowly nodded his head, and Jo felt Thor lightly grabbing her shoulder. Since he was standing, he gently pushed her into his chair and then stood behind her. His strong hands on her shoulders were a good focusing point, and Jo waited to see what would happen next. 

“Josephine has showed me what happened earlier, and I know that it was not your fault. Whoever is controlling your mind, that is who pushed her out. Not you. With your permission, I would like to look inside of your mind. I will not push as hard as Josephine did, so you do not need to worry about the pain.”

“I hurt him?” Jo heard herself whisper. The Professor looked up and met her eyes, and she feels like a student all over again. 

“You were trying to help. I merely want to see what, or who, has taken over his mind. Once I know that, we can come up with a plan to free Loki’s mind. If he permits me, of course.” Jo turned down to look at Loki, and the younger god was looking up at Thor. 

“I would not have brought you here if I did not trust Jo’s judgment, brother. Let them do what they can to save you,” Thor said quietly. Loki seemed to think it over and then nodded over at the Professor. Unlike her, the Professor didn’t have to touch Loki to enter his mind. Didn’t even have to close his eyes, but Loki’s eyes did close. After a few minutes, a blue light began to swirl around Loki’s head. It must be the same force that literally pushed her out of his mind. The light slowly died down, and the Professor looked over her head to meet Thor’s eyes. 

“What can you tell me of the mind stone? Of the scepter?” Jo doesn’t remember ever hearing about a mind stone, and she went through a lot of memories in a lot of days. She does remember Loki’s scepter though. It’s how he was able to brainwash so many people, like Clint and Dr. Selvig, and it was later used to stop the Tesseract and close the giant hole into space. 

“The mind stone? It must be one of the six infinity stones; each stone carries great power. Power that mortals were not meant to wield. Do you believe the mind stone was hidden within the scepter?” She really does not like Thor’s tone; that tone doesn’t mean anything good. 

“I know that it was. The mind stone is what gave Loki the ability to subjugate the mind of others, to bend their entire consciousness to his will,” the Professor said quietly.

“So, Loki really is the one that tried to take over the Earth?” Jo didn’t want to ask it, for Thor’s sake, but they need to know. 

“No, not exactly. I believe that Loki was the first test subject, but we will not know for sure until we go deeper. The stone, the being that first wielded the stone, still has control over his mind. We must dig deeper.” The Professor looked first at Thor and then at her, and Jo nodded her head. Whatever it took to get to the truth. 

“What now?” she asked when everyone went silent. 

“Loki, it will take all three of us to drive out the presence in your mind. In the process, a mental link will be created between you, Jo, and myself. The only memories you will be able to see are Jo’s. Our link will be more informal; it will be more of an imprint, because I will have to hold back the force on your mind as Jo digs deeper. Since she has already created a mental link with Thor, he can strengthen her. He will see your memories in the process, and vice versa, but I believe it is the only way that we can safely push out the being in your mind. Do you consent?”

“Please, brother, let us help you,” Thor said quietly. Loki looked around at all of them, with eyes that were the wrong color, and slowly nodded his head. The Professor grabbed Loki’s hand and reached his other hand out to press against Loki’s forehead. 

“Josephine, grab Loki’s hand and Thor’s. Thor, place your free hand over Loki’s heart. The being in his mind is going to fight us, but we are going to be stronger.”

“Damn straight,” Jo muttered as she laced her fingers through Loki’s. She grabbed Thor’s hand with her free hand, and she smiled reassuringly up at the god as he pressed his palm flat against Loki’s chest. 

“Let us begin.”

Jo waited until some of the blue fog cleared before she pressed forward, and she was startled when memories started filtering through. Younger memories, of Loki as a young boy, and some of the memories were familiar. She could also feel Thor’s mind, pressing along next to hers, trying to guide her. She’s already seen the past; she saw so much of Loki in Thor’s memories. It was like the two were never apart when they were younger. Thor pushed her, farther and farther, until the harder memories began to surface. Thor wanted to destroy an entire race, the Frost Giants, and Loki followed him. Followed his headstrong, idiotic brother, because he loved him. Then a hand grabbed his arm, and he watched in horror as his skin turned blue. Blue as a frost giant. 

_Loki stands in the Vault, and he lifts the Casket of Ancient Winters from its stand by his forearms. Blue spreads from his arms, seeps across his body. He can hear the Destroyer behind him, firing up at the presence of a Frost Giant, and he can feel the coldness spreading all over him. It’s true. He wants to tell Thor, but how could he? His brother was banished for trying to kill all of the Frost Giants, so what would he do in finding out that his own brother is one of the monsters that he sought to kill?_

_“Stop!” When he turns, Father-no-Odin is hurrying into the room. The sounds from the Destroyer cease, and Odin meets Loki’s red eyes._

_“Am I cursed?” He can’t be…he can’t be one of those_ things!

_“No. Put the Casket down.” Once the Casket is resting back on its pedestal, the blue color fades from his skin. He is as he was, but which is the real him? He raises his eyes to Odin’s, and he can feel his heart thundering in his chest. Warm blood is chasing away the cold, but he can still feel the chill._

_“What am I?” There comes a time when everyone questions who they are, but Loki never thought that he’d have to ask what he was. Not from his own father._

_“You’re my son.” The words burn, because they don’t sound true. Odin is saying what he is meant to say and nothing more. The words may burn, but there is no warmth behind them._

_“What more than that?” Odin doesn’t answer him. Instead, he can see just how tired Odin looks. How weary and burdened. As if he’s been carrying a dreadful secret for centuries. “The Casket wasn’t the only thing you took from Jotunheim that day, was it?”_

_“No.” No more denial. Odin looks him straight in the eye and tells the truth, for once. “In the aftermath of the battle, I went into the Temple, and I found a baby. Small for a giant’s offspring—abandoned, suffering, left to die. Laufey’s son.”_

_“Laufey’s son…” His words are a mere whisper, but they echo in the vault. He strengthens his voice before continuing. “Why? You were knee-deep in Jotun blood. Why would you take me?”_

_“You were an innocent child.” Odin answers too quickly, and Loki has heard far too many of Odin’s old war stories. Odin has never once saved a child from a battlefield, so why now?_

_“You took me for a purpose, what was it?” He already knows the answer. He knows the answer, but he doesn’t want to believe. He wants to believe that Odin took him because, in some twisted way, he thought he could learn to love the child of a monster. Odin, however, refuses to answer him. Which is an answer in and of itself, but he wants to hear the words. “Tell me!”_

_“I thought we could unite our kingdoms one day, bring about an alliance, bring about a permanent peace…through you. But those plans no longer matter.” He can feel the burn of tears in his eyes, because all of his years spent in this palace are starting to make sense. He has never been a Prince of Asgard._

_“So I am no more than another stolen relic, locked up here until you might have use to me.” Odin has always shown favoritism to Thor, which has never truly bothered Loki. Frigga doted on him, and he knew that Thor loved him. His brother loves him unconditionally, but he won’t after he learns this truth._

_“Why do you twist my words?” Loki has always had a gift with words, but he has twisted nothing here. Odin said himself that Loki was only taken so that there might one day be peace. What will become of him now?_

_“You could have told me what I was from the beginning. Why didn’t you?” Why the secrecy? Why raise him as a Prince of Asgard?_

_“You are my son. My blood. I wanted only to protect you from the truth.” Protect him, until the time was right._

_“Because I am the monster that parents tell their children about at night?” He can’t stop the tears on his cheeks, because Odin told him and Thor those same bed stories. Told them both of the horrible Frost Giants. Told them stories about_ him.

After that, Odin fell into the Odinsleep. Loki did his best to rule Asgard, as the rightful heir, but the people called for Thor. Always for Thor. In his jealousy, he did things that he regretted. All he ever wanted was a chance to prove himself. To prove himself to Thor, to the brother that hated his species. To prove himself to Odin, who only saw him as a bargaining chip. As they hang over the edge of the Bridge, waves of energy bashing against them, Loki realized that he made a mistake. He had a chance, and he messed up. 

_Thor is holding onto one end of Gungnir, of Odin’s spear that Loki took for his own, and Loki is hanging above open space. He can still feel energy pushing against his body, pushing him to let go, and he tightens his fingers. Thor’s hold suddenly steadies, and Loki raises his eyes. Odin is holding onto Thor’s leg, to keep them both from falling, and Loki searches Odin’s face. Looks for some kind of familial love, possibly redemption, but his face is blank._

_“I could have done it, Father. I could have done it. For you. For all of us.”_

_“No, Loki.” There’s nothing on Odin’s face but disappointment. Regret. Loki failed, so there’s only one thing left to do. He lets his fingers slip off the spear and welcomes the nothingness that’s rising up to greet him. The last thing he hears is Thor’s voice, screaming his name._

_“Loki, no! Nooo!”_

The right brother was saved. Thor may have still been immature when he decided to invade Jotunheim, but his brother—Thor—has changed since his time on Midgard. In time, he will make a good ruler. A fair ruler. For what felt like centuries, Loki fell through the nothingness. He had time to think, time to view his mistakes, and time to think of amends. Perhaps, Thor would be able to look past his parentage. Maybe, in time, they could be as they were. Loki will never rule Asgard; he is not an Asgardian, and it would not be proper. He’ll find another purpose, or he’ll cease to exist. Either would be preferable at this point. 

When he is finally found, he wishes for death. The ruler, Thanos, wishes to rule him. Wishes to use him. He hates that Loki will not break. It does not matter how many times they break his body, how many times they rip into his mind to show him his worst horrors, because he has made peace with the monster that he is. For weeks, months, years…they try to break him. The whole time, he listens. He waits. He plans. Once they believe that he is broken, a plan is struck. He promises them the Tesseract, which he knows is on Earth. Enough time has passed; Thor will have found a way to return to Earth, to return to his Midgardian woman, and they will fail. This Chitauri army that Thanos controls…they will fail. 

The scepter they give to him has the mind stone embedded in it, to make sure that he cannot stray from their plans. They need the Tesseract. They need him to get the Tesseract. He needs Thor to make sure that doesn’t happen. Thanos has used the mind stone on him so much that he’s no more than a slave to it, a slave to Thanos himself. Should he even think of telling one of the others that he needs help, that he has been enslaved, he will die. Thanos will crush him without a second thought, the scepter along with the mind stone will be returned to him, and he will find a different way to retrieve the Tesseract. No, it’s up to Loki to make sure that everything goes as planned. 

Everything falls into place perfectly. He gets the agents he needs on his side, especially Agent Barton. Agent Barton is essential to his plan succeeding, because he will need Agent Romanoff. Once he has the Tesseract, he sends it off. Makes sure that he does not know its location; he makes it look like a ploy against the forces sent against him, but he does not want to know where it is. He can only hope that it will fall into the right hands. When he is taken aboard the hellicarrier, everything comes together perfectly. Agent Barton gave him detailed reports of the Avengers Initiative, and it all falls together as planned. 

He’s interrogated by Agent Romanoff, and he reveals his true plan. The scepter, with the mind stone still within it, does not react well with Dr. Banner’s other half. When Hulk begins tearing through the hellicarrier, he knows that it is almost time. Agent Barton has been deployed, and the hellicarrier is falling. The ones that call themselves Ironman and Captain America care more about civilian casualties, so they’ll rush to keep them in the air. Hulk will escape, because that is what he does. (He will return, because he will want to right his wrongs. The mind stone showed him that much.) Agent Romanoff engages with Agent Barton, which leaves him with Thor. Tricking his brother is only too easy, it always has been, but he does not like the look of his brother locked in a cage. (For weeks, months, years…they locked him in a cage. Tore at his body and at his mind. But Thor will escape. His brother is strong enough to escape.)

Phil Coulson was a distraction, an anomaly, something he didn’t expect. Loki is a god, of Asgardian or Jotunheim doesn’t matter, and this man is a mere mortal. He shoves the spear through Coulson’s chest, buries the sound of his brother’s screams beneath his heart, and sends his brother falling through the sky. The blast that hits him is hot, burns, and clears his mind for the first time in so long. For just a moment, he is himself. Unfortunately, he still has a role to play. After that, it’s all motion. He’s on a jet, moving away from all the destruction, and he waits for the heat to return to his mind. When it doesn’t, he concentrates as hard as he can on Coulson’s fading life force. 

The human has been moved to a facility, and he is alone. There are no mourners at his bedside, because a war is about to begin. Loki’s fingers turn blue as he pulls back the white sheet, and he doesn’t stop until the man’s entire chest is uncovered. Loki can see the wound, can see the length of the blade that went through his heart and came out through his chest. Loki never wanted to kill an innocent. (That man, in Germany, the one that lost an eye…he was not an innocent. He deserved an even worse fate, and Loki believes that he got off easy. There were others, many others, but they were all liars. Serpents hidden amongst the masses.) Phil Coulson is a good man, and he is not going to die today. Loki’s magic has been limited by the scepter, by the mind stone, but this is his real body. The projection of his body is with the scepter now. With his blue hands, he reaches towards the man’s chest and feels his magic thickening the veins in his arms and spreading down into his hands. It’s getting harder to fight the stone’s control, but he’s nearly done. When the man’s eyes flutter open, Loki knows that he will live. He tells the man to stay still, he doesn’t have very long now, and his eyes close. Once Loki is sure that the human will live, he returns to the stone. 

Tony Stark’s building is…obnoxious, is the word that comes to mind. The palace in Asgard is even larger and more ornate, but it’s meant for so many people. Stark actually wrote his name at the top of this monument. Loki waits, but he doesn’t have to wait long for them to come. The Avengers. It’s a good name. Once the war starts, Loki can breathe a little easier. The Avengers are made up of humans, enhanced and normal, but they can stop the Chitauri army. He believes that. He has to believe that, even as he throws Tony Stark out of a window. As if he didn’t notice the technology on his wrist? Fighting against Thor is somehow the hardest. He wants to scream at his brother, beg to be saved, but he can’t. One wrong word, and he won’t exist anymore. He hasn’t fought this hard, this long, to die now. So when he stabs his brother and is pushed from the platform, he leaves the scepter behind. He knows that one of them will be intelligent enough to know that the scepter is the key to stopping the Tesseract. 

In the end, it’s Hulk that destroys him. Slams him into concrete, over and over, and his mind is free again. Goading a beast never seems smart, but Loki wanted his mind to be his own. If only for a moment. When he can finally move again, they’re all there. He can’t help his smile. They’re all there, which means that the invasion failed. The Chitauri failed. The Tesseract will be moved somewhere safe. The scepter will be kept somewhere safe. He knows he will face punishment, and he will face it gladly. He cannot tell the truth, he must stay silent, until the hold on his mind is gone. 

He learns that he can speak, as long as he doesn’t allude to anything to do with what happened on Earth. As long as he doesn’t think about Thanos. When Frigga dies, his mind becomes his own for just a little while. His anger is strong enough to fight against Thanos’s hold, and he’s able to help his brother. It is only one small step on the way to penance, but it’s all that he can do. For now.

_“I’m a fool. I’m a fool.” Loki says the words as Thor’s hands hold him up, and he can feel the ice of his blood slowly draining from his body. He never should have left his cell. He’s getting weak, which means that Thanos can take him over again. He can’t have that. He can’t._

_“Stay with me, okay?”_

_“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” He’s sorry for sending the Destroyer after Thor. Sorry for what happened in Midgard, in New York. Sorry for everything. Sorry for the tears that are gathered in Thor’s eyes and for not telling Frigga that he did love her._

_“It’s alright. I’ll tell Father what you did here today.”_

_“I didn’t do it for him.” He did it for his mother, for the woman who loved him in spite of what he was and never treated him any differently. He did it for Thor, to prove to his brother that he isn’t a monster. He never wanted to be a monster._

Before Thanos can take over his weakening body, he finds a passage back to Asgard. Makes it back into his cell before his mind is once again taken away from him, and he laughs as Thanos roars. Because Loki is back in his cell, where Thanos cannot use him. Where he cannot hurt anyone. When it is over, when Odin reveals that Frigga truly did survive, his mind shuts down. In his paralyzed state, Thanos takes over completely and punishes him. He can no longer talk; he cannot request a report on Frigga’s health or even beg Thor to save him. He stops eating. Stops drinking. Prays that his body gives in so that Thanos can never use him again, because he can feel the other man growing stronger. Loki will no longer be his pawn. He only has two choices now: choose to die as himself or live as a slave. He was born to be a king, and he will not live as some madman’s pawn. 

_“You have suffered, Josephine Holbrook, much in the way that I have suffered. Do you begrudge my choices? What would you choose?”_ Loki’s voice was so soft against her mind and so defeated, and she could already tell that her face was drenched with tears. 

_“I would choose neither. You saw my memories, as well. As much as I wanted to die, all of those times that I begged for them to end me, I held on. I kept holding on, hoping that one day, someone would save me. I was saved. Today is your day to be saved, Loki.”_

_“You will be saved, brother.”_ Thor’s voice echoed in both of their minds, and Jo held onto their hands tight enough to break the bones of a mortal. It’s a good thing that they’re both gods. 

_“On my count, Josephine, I want you to claim Loki Laufeyson as your own. Do you understand? You have to mean it, with your entire being, it is the only way we will force Thanos out.”_

_“You got it, Professor.”_

_“One, two, three…”_

**_“Loki Laufeyson is mine, and I command you to get out!”_ **

The roar in her head was deafening, it made her want to scream from the intensity of it all, but she bit her lip and held onto that feeling. After a few moments, all traces of the blue fog was gone. The only thing left in Loki’s mind was memories tinged with green, like the vibrant color of his eyes, and a few memories that were clouded in red. The color of Thor’s cape. She slowly opened her eyes as she pulled out of Loki’s head, and she could feel another door at the back of her mind. This one was cold and tasted like blueberries, but she’s learned not to question the weird things that happen in her mind. The professor had let go of Loki’s hand, and Thor had removed his hand from Loki’s chest. Her and Thor were still holding Loki’s hands though, almost like an afterthought. 

“Brother?” Thor’s voice almost seemed to shake, and Jo noticed the way that Loki’s lip twitched. 

“Am I still your brother?” His voice sounded a little rough from disuse, but a little bit of water should clear that right up. Jo stood up and stepped back so that Thor could sit on the bed next to his brother, and Thor didn’t hesitate to haul his brother up into a back-breaking hug. She means that too. Something popped. 

“Hank, if you could, please escort Jo to a room where she can rest. Then bring Dr. Banner into my office.” Jo raised a brow at that. Yeah, she feels like she’s about to fall over, but why does the Professor want to talk to her Bruce? “I want to let him know that the mental link was a success and then I would like to contact everyone at your home and tell them what we saw. With Loki’s permission.”

“If they’ll believe it,” the god managed to get out in his hoarse voice.

“They will. Food and water will be provided for you, but you both need to rest. Loki, as far as the mental link goes, you can always contact me or Josephine. It does not matter the distance. Call, and we will hear you.”

“Thank you.” Loki’s eyes closed after getting that out, and Jo swayed on her feet. 

“This way, Josephine. You’ve earned your rest,” Hank said and gently grabbed her arm. 

“But I left my bag on the jet,” she mumbled as they exited the room. 

“Me and Bruce will get it.” Hank led her into one of the many guest rooms, and she thanked the older mutant before closing the door. She’s wearing boxer panties, white with little Hulk faces on them, so she stripped out of her jeans. Next off was the button-up shirt, so that she was just left in the black Ironman tank. Now she’s ready for some sleep. She flipped the light off, listened to her feet whisper across the carpet, and collapsed against the mattress. Pulling the sheets and the blanket up her body wasn’t easy, and she buried her face against the fluffy pillow. 

_“Mind meld was successful. I’m fine, Thor’s fine, Loki’s apparently kind of a good guy, and I’mma take a nap. Professor will talk to you soon. Nothing to worry about. Come cuddle me later.”_ She pushed against his door lightly, but it was like his door was always cracked and ready to open for her. Kinda like Tony’s. 

_“Rest, Jo. I’ll be with you soon.”_ She smacked her lips against the green flavor in her mind and let the warmth seep down from her mind all the way down to her toes. The Professor, her, and Thor saved Loki today. She can rest now, and Bruce will be with her when she wakes up. If that’s not an incentive to go to sleep, she doesn’t know what is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First up is the obvious disclaimer: I don’t own any of the mutants from the school. They all belong to Marvel, and I encourage you to Google them because the X-Men are awesome! (I, personally, don’t hate Jean-Grey or Scott. Jo is just fiercely protective over Logan.)
> 
> The Loki flashbacks come from _Thor_ , _The Avengers_ , and _Thor: The Dark World_. Writing the Loki parts was extremely difficult, because I was trying to find a balance between okay and bad. I really want Loki in the story, but I can’t see the others forgiving him easily. (Not that it’s going to be easy in this story, but he’s got a fighting chance now.) Also, as much as I love Loki, he’s not my favorite Marvel character. Most of my obsessive love is saved for Ironman and Deadpool, surprisingly. You’d think it’d be Hulk, but he’s in the top five. What I’m trying to say is that I hope I didn’t mess Loki’s characterization up too much. If you think I did, please help me improve.


	40. Loki Makes Thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _it's in my head_
> 
> _darling, i hope_
> 
> _that you'll be here_
> 
> _when i need you the most_
> 
> **Don’t Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers**

One small child, with light purple skin and nearly translucent wings, had taken up residence on top of Hulk’s head. She didn’t pull his hair, she stayed on mostly by keeping her legs tight around the side of his neck, so Hulk didn’t mind. Other children danced around his knees and grabbed onto his arms, and he lifted them up and spun them around. Did pretty much whatever they requested. A few children were tossed into the air, and Hulk’s giant hands easily caught them as they came back down. The whole time, the small child on top of his head clapped and laughed. 

_“Mind meld was successful. I’m fine, Thor’s fine, Loki’s apparently kind of a good guy, and I’mma take a nap. Professor will talk to you soon. Nothing to worry about. Come cuddle me later.”_ Jo’s voice was stronger in his mind, has been stronger ever since the mental link, and Bruce felt Hulk’s satisfaction at knowing that Jo was safe. Hulk was also happy for Thor, that his friend could finally have some peace with his brother. Even if Hulk was still cautious of the other god. Bruce was too, so he was looking forward to hearing what happened. 

_“Rest, Jo. I’ll be with you soon.”_ Bruce knew that she heard the words, because he felt a deep sense of contentment that didn’t come from him or Hulk. He could also smell oranges, just for a moment, before his mind quieted. 

“Alright, kids! That’s enough for today! Bruce needs to go see the Professor!” Some of the children groaned, but they all waved goodbye to Hulk before hurrying over to surround Kitty. The small child on his head smacked a kiss into his curls before fluttering over to the other children, and Hulk waved as Kitty led them away. When he reached the steps leading to the back of the mansion, Anna Marie smiled up at him. 

“For some reason, I ain’t even a little surprised that Jo’s datin’ someone who turns green.” She said it as he shifted back, and Hulk rumbled out a laugh as he receded back into Bruce’s mind. Bruce felt a little exposed in just his shorts in front of Jo’s little sister, and the woman continued to smile at him as he walked over to where his clothes were neatly folded on a table on the porch. 

“Because green is her favorite color?” His pants easily went over the shorts, and he pushed his arms through the sleeves of his button-up shirt.

“That, and you look really good shirtless.” Anna Marie laughed as Bruce blushed, he could feel the heat in his cheeks, and he quickly finished buttoning up his shirt. “Don’t be so bashful, Bruce. I’m just messin’ with ya. That’s what family does, right?”

"Family takes care of each other.” Anna Marie’s eyes narrowed just a little, because that’s something that Jo has told her many times over the years. It’s what Anna Marie said to the older mutant after Jo retired from SHIELD. Bruce finished buttoning his shirt, and Anna Marie smiled as she hooked her arm around one of his. 

“Yeah, that’s what family does. You joinin’ the family, Bruce?” She sounds like Jo, just a little. Anna Marie’s accent is a little thicker, her speech is a little slower, but he can hear echoes of Jo in her words. 

“I don’t know. It’s still new, but I’m not planning on leaving her side anytime soon.” The answer must have been a good one, because the woman just lightly squeezed his arm as she led him back inside the school. 

“I can still remember the first time Logan brought me here. It looked big and scary, and then there was Jo. Long hair and big dark eyes; she didn’t even let Logan finish explaining who I was before she jumped forward to hug me. Our cheeks brushed. Just a little bit, but it was enough.”

“You started crying when she fell over, and she cried so that you wouldn’t have to cry alone. Logan got you both ice cream and made Jo promise to be more careful around you. To take care of you.” Some of his memories of Jo are growing hazy, fuzzy around the edges, but he remembers that one well enough. 

“That’s exactly what she’s always done. After what happened to her, I thought I’d lost her. She was still breathin’, but she wasn’t right. Now? Even though she looks a little dead on her feet, she looks more like herself. Did you do that?” Anna Marie stopped in front of a door, and Bruce looked down at her. 

“No. Tony Stark did.” Being with Jo, being with all of them, makes Bruce feel better. About himself. About everything really. He thinks it’s the same for Jo. There’s something about all of them being together that’s changing all of them, but it started with Tony and Jo. 

“Eh, I guess we can still keep you around. Have fun talkin’ to the Professor.” She reached forward to open the door, and she winked at him before walking off. Bruce watched her back for just a moment before turning towards the open doorway, and clear blue eyes met his as he stepped into the office. 

“Dr. Banner.” Bruce closed the door behind him and walked over to the large desk, and he smiled as he lowered himself down into a chair. 

“Professor Xavier.” 

“Has Josephine told you what happened with Loki?”

“All she said was that the mental link was successful and that Loki was a good guy?” It’s something he’s still having problems believing. He remembers Loki. Remembers watching as the god was slammed into the floor of Stark Tower, repeatedly. Remembers the destruction left in his wake. 

“That is the simplest answer, yes. I would like to contact Mr. Stark and tell you both what happened.” Bruce nodded, because it seemed like the easiest and most logical solution. “If you would join me on this side, please.”

Bruce moved around to the other side of the desk, so that he was standing next to the Professor, and watched as a screen appeared out of the middle of the desk. A moment later, Tony’s face was taking up most of the screen. After a quick explanation about the meaning of the call, Tony called for the others. Slowly, several more faces appeared around him. Looks like the whole house has been gathered together to hear the news. Bruce stayed silent while the Professor explained what he was able to see, and it was a lot to take in. Loki wasn’t exactly innocent, but he wasn’t to blame for what happened in Manhattan. He may have used them, but…it was the right call. 

“When do I get my bodyguard and science bro back?” Tony asked once the explanation was over. 

“They will be returned to you once Josephine and Loki are both conscious. I estimate sometime tomorrow,” the Professor said. Tony nodded, locked eyes with Bruce, and then cut off the connection. 

“Are Loki and Thor resting too?” Jo told him that she was taking a nap, which he expected after she made another mental link. She always sleeps after that. 

“They are. I know you want to join Josephine, but there is one more thing I would like to discuss with you first. If you don’t mind.” Bruce was already back on the other side of the desk, and he sat down in one of the cushioned chairs for the second time since entering the office. The Professor’s tone of voice makes him think that he might need to be sitting down for this. 

“Is something wrong?” The Professor laced his fingers together and settled them on top of the desk, and Bruce resisted the urge to bring his hands together and check his pulse. Old habits are hard to break, but he’s trying. 

“Not yet.”

“That sounds…ominous.” He was hoping to break the tension, but the Professor’s expression didn’t change. Now he’s really worried. 

“How many mental links has Josephine established?” Bruce quickly counted all the names and shifted a little in his seat. 

“Loki makes thirteen.” The Professor’s eyes closed, briefly, before meeting his again. 

“I will speak to her before she leaves, but Josephine has always been strong-willed so I am going to ask for your help. You care for her?” 

“Yes.” That’s the second time he’s been asked that today, in one way or another. 

“Do not let her create another mental link. Her mind has already stretched well past its limits. Creating another link could destroy her mind permanently. Do any of you understand what she has done to herself?” Bruce couldn’t think of anything to say. His so-called genius brain was silent, because he feels like some kind of chastised child. 

“Is she okay?” Jo’s looked more tired lately, but it makes sense considering how much has been going on. Then again, it’s possible that they’ve all rationalized it that way and avoided looking any deeper into her changes. 

“For now, she appears to be okay. Creating just one mental link is dangerous for a telepath, and Josephine has created thirteen. If any of you were to get hurt in any kind of major way, she would be affected. I sincerely hope, for Josephine’s sake, that she is the first to die among you.” Bruce could hear Hulk growling in the back of his mind, rebelling against the idea of Jo’s death, but Bruce felt mostly numb. “If you or one of the others were to die first, a part of her mind would die as well. What if she is the last standing among you? She won’t even be herself. She will be lost. If I had known she’d already made so many mental links, I never would have allowed her to create one with Loki.”

“Can they be reversed?” Even as he asked it, Bruce already knew the answer. The Professor shaking his head just confirmed it. “No more mental links, and I’ll keep an eye on her.”

“Josephine is strong, but everyone has limits.” The sound of a throat clearing came from behind him, and Bruce turned his head to see Dr. McCoy standing in the now open doorway. He had two suitcases, his and Jo’s, in his hands. 

“I’ll take you to Josephine, Dr. Banner.” The Professor nodded at him, and Bruce rose on unsteady legs. The mutant doctor was quiet as they walked through the hallways, and he opened a door that didn’t look any different than all the others. The suitcases were set down right inside the door, and Dr. McCoy smiled briefly at him before closing the door behind him. 

Since the light was on, he could make out the small lump under the blankets on the bed. Jo’s hair was piled on the pillow behind her, and he could just see the tip of her nose over the thick blanket. She didn’t move as he eased himself down on top of the blanket, but he was still careful not to jostle the bed too much as he laid down beside her. She was breathing evenly and deep, but her skin was paler than usual and dark smudges were under her eyes. She didn’t even stir when he reached up to brush a stray piece of hair away from her cheek, and he kept repeating the Professor’s words in his mind. Over and over. 

_**“We’ll keep her safe.”**_ Hulk sounded unsure, and Bruce reached out to pull Jo against him. She nuzzled against his throat before falling still again, and Bruce hoped that Hulk was right.

**.xXx.**

“Wait! One more quick team meeting!” Tony tried not to smile as everyone literally froze in the act of leaving the room, and Darcy raised a brow at him. The plan was to do this after dinner, but they’re already all together. Tony looked away from Darcy and over at Sam, and the man crossed his arms as he nodded. Alright, here goes.

His eyes flicked around the room as he brought up the idea of counseling, and the reactions varied. Darcy and Skye seemed the most open to it, and he could actually see Clint and Natasha shut down. Maria looked a little fidgety, and Steve’s jaw was clenched pretty tight. He knows none of them are good at talking about their problems, but they’re gonna need counseling. Especially since Loki just got cleared. No one said anything once his speech was done, but they all looked around at each other in tense silence. 

“I’m not saying I’m crazy about the idea, but can any of you actually say that you’re mentally sound?” 

“More mentally sound than you are,” Clint threw out. Tony narrowed his eyes, and the archer huffed. “Yeah, okay, we’re all pretty fucked up. How’s talking about it going to help?”

“Won’t know that until you try.” It’s about time Sam spoke up! Tony was tired of treading water on his own. He gets why Clint is upset though. The Battle of Manhattan messed most of the Avengers up, Tony included, but none of them went through what Clint did. None of them were literally brainwashed into doing some very not-good things. 

“Why Sam and not Jo? She’s the one that knows literally everything about us,” Skye said and then glanced over at Sam. “No offense. Just curious.”

“Jo’s the best, but she’s not a therapist. You all saw her memories too, right? Her idea of an intervention involves fist fights. It worked for me, once, but I think we need a different approach. Sam’s the only one of us with actual experience in this kind of thing.” Normally, Tony is all for standing in the spotlight. Loves being looked at. Ironically, he hates being exposed. It burns inside every time he remembers that everyone in this room has seen him at his lowest point.

“I think it’s a good idea. As long as Sam is willing,” Steve said quietly. 

“Wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t willing.” When the silence stretched out again, Sam huffed and let his arms fall. “It’s not mandatory. No one is going to make you talk about your feelings. If you wanna try it out, that’s cool. Take the day to figure it out. Tomorrow, after breakfast, tell me if you’ve decided to try it. Once everyone has decided, I’ll come up with a schedule. If you wanna wait a while, that’s cool too. I’m just here to help.”

“Meeting over. Go back to whatever you were doing,” Tony said and waved his hands. The room slowly emptied, until it was just him and Sam. Tony stepped next to the man that was willing to play therapist for a bunch of emotionally repressed superheroes and grinned. “I think that went well.”

“This is a madhouse. A madhouse!” Sam yelled as Tony walked off, laughing all the while. He’s not wrong.

**.xXx.**

“Is it weird that I want to try therapy?” Skye’s dark brown eyes rose to meet hers, and Darcy stopped twirling her hair around her finger. Her and Skye are in her room, but they’ve been working on separate projects. It’s just nice to be in the same room. Darcy almost wanted to take the question back, but she wants Skye’s opinion. Wants her _twin sister’s_ opinion, and it’s going to take a while to get used to that.

“Your pseudo family is made up of superheroes, you recently found out that you were a mutant because you were shot in the head, and you just discovered that you have biological family around. I think it’d be weirder if you thought you were perfectly fine.” Well, when stated like that, therapy seems like the logical choice. 

“So you’re gonna go for counseling too?” Skye drummed her fingers against her knees for a minute and then slowly nodded her head. 

“Yeah. It’s not like it could hurt, right?” Sam seems nice enough. He helped out Steve and Natasha during the whole SHIELD-is-HYDRA fiasco, and Jo cleared him. 

“Right,” Darcy agreed. Therapy. Should be fun.

**.xXx.**

_It’s headed straight for her. Big horns. Big teeth. Dark red skin. They’re gonna collide any second now, and she can’t stop laughing. Let it test her strength! She will show the beast who the true warrior is! Flesh connects with her and—_

_—she twists away from the body attempting to pin her. Small fingers reach for the places that can hurt her the most, but she’s faster. Her body moves in a graceful arc as she strikes, and she watches as the girl hits the ground. Listens to the thud of her unmoving body. Just like that, the fight is over. Just like that, she’s—_

_Ringing. It echoes in her ears. Loud ringing drowns out everything around her, and her chest burns as she screams at the sky. Their bombs can’t put a dent in her, but the fire makes her ache deep inside. The looks of fear cut at her, and she’s just. So. Angry._

_The ground shakes under her feet, and she can smell burned flesh and burning wood in the air. Her fingers creak as she tightens her grip on the bow, because she was too late. Too late to save anyone. Always too late. Something crunches under her boot, and she reaches down—_

_She’s reaching, stretching as much as she possibly can, but it’s not enough. He’s falling, a dark shadow against a sea of white, because she couldn’t reach him. Her fingers close around empty air. He’s falling. Falling._

_She’s falling, and she can hear her own heartbeat drumming against her ears as wide eyes get farther away. She’s falling into the fire. Falling. Falling._

_Over the edge of the Bridge. Falling into nothingness._

_Falling from the sky. Silence._

“JO!” She pushed against the hands holding her down, because she can’t see. She can’t see anything. It’s too dark, too bright, too loud, too quiet. So many sensations are overtaking her senses, and it hurts. Everything hurts, and she just wants to make it stop. 

“Please. Make it stop.” She could hear the rough sound of her own voice, and she could hear Bruce’s soothing voice whispering against her ear. She couldn’t make out the words, but just the sound of his voice was enough to calm her down. Her eyes are slowly adjusting to the darkness, and she could feel Bruce’s hair in between her fingers. “Bruce?”

“I’m here.” She felt her whole body shudder, and Bruce’s arms tightened around her middle. They’re in a bed, at the school. She’s safe here. She’s always been safe here. Bruce is sitting up against the headboard, and she’s curled up in his lap. She’s safe. 

“It was like a nightmare, but none of it came from me. It was _theirs_. Thor, Natasha, Hulk, Clint, Steve, Pepper, Loki, and Tony. All of it got so mixed up, but it was more than just seeing. I was them, Bruce. It was like I was reliving all of it,” she whispered and curled closer to him. She needs Bruce’s warmth and strength right now, but she can feel him shaking against her. 

“Do I need to go get the Professor?” It wasn’t easy to do, but she managed to pull herself away. They were still pressed together, but she could see Bruce’s dark eyes now. Something’s not right. 

“What happened?” One of Bruce’s hands lightly cupped the back of her head, and she kept her eyes opened as he leaned forward to press his forehead against hers. She could taste green as his mind opened to her, and she listened to the Professor speak. He thinks that she overdid it, and he might be right. Her head feels too full, and she feels tired in a way that’s completely new. She didn’t even think that was possible at this point in her life. “I’m going to be fine.”

“Would you tell me if you weren’t?” Jo’s always considered herself to be honest; she’s definitely not the best at lying. 

“Yes. If I start to feel like I’m slipping, I’ll tell you. I am not slipping right now. I had a nightmare because I’ve crammed a lot of horrible memories into my head in the past week, not even a whole week, and I just need time to adjust. Okay?” Her hands were steady as they framed Bruce’s face, and she could feel his hands tightly gripping her hips. 

“Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter down! This chapter is a little shorter than usual, because the last one was a lot longer than my average chapters. Once everyone is back together again, the chapters will get longer. Are you okay with very long chapters? Because some of them might get _really_ long. 
> 
> I can’t think of anything big that I want to address. If you have any questions about anything, please don’t hesitate to ask!


	41. A Demonstration Of Awesomeness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _i’ve told you that i’m lightning’s girl_
> 
> _but you keep hanging around_
> 
> **Lightning’s Girl by Nancy Sinatra**

**September 15, 2014**

“Your optimism is appreciated.” Thor’s smile was quick and bright, and Loki almost didn’t continue. Almost. “And foolish. No one in that house wants my presence.”

“That is not true, brother.” He has to stop himself from correcting Thor every time the title slips from his lips, because they are not brothers. Not really. 

“They hate me, for good reason.” He tore the Avengers apart. They may have managed to come back together, stronger, but his actions affected all of them. 

“We will tell them the truth. What happened was not your fault.” Foolishness. He’s not even sure why he’s surprised. 

“I sent the Destroyer, I fell, and I promised the Tesseract to Thanos.”

“You had no control!” 

“I own my actions!” A rough cough caught their attention, and they both turned to look at the doorway to the bedroom they were currently in. The female mutant, Jo, was leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed. Behind her was Hulk’s human counterpart, Dr. Banner. 

“Problem, boys?” Her voice was a hoarse drawl as she raised an eyebrow, and Loki met her green eyes with his own. 

“I am merely trying to get Thor to see reason,” Loki said quietly. 

“Loki thinks that he is unwanted in our home,” Thor told the woman. 

“Well, he’s right.” Loki turned to Thor and smiled, because he was right. “Clint’s never gonna be his biggest fan. He’ll always see the people that he killed while he was brainwashed. Since Clint will never really like him, Natasha probably won’t either. Solidarity and all that. Tony’s still a little upset about being thrown out of a window, and don’t even get me started on that whole portal into space thing. Hulk doesn’t appreciate being used as a destructive distraction. So, yeah, there’s going to be some tension. They’re also some of the only people that’ll understand what it’s like to be controlled by something else, to have your choices limited. They’re not going to just up and forgive you. What you did cut too deep. I think you can redeem yourself though, if you try. Or you could just, I don’t know, run away?”

“Is she trying to goad me into redemption?” The woman’s whole speech was said calmly and without ever looking away from his eyes, and Thor smiled over at him. 

“I believe she is. What say you, brother?” Loki looked away from Thor’s bright eyes, and he caught Dr. Banner’s eyes for the first time. The man has been silent this entire time, and Loki can’t read his expression. 

“Tell me, Hulk, will your housemates attempt to kill me in my sleep?” The woman looked over her shoulder to meet her lover’s eyes and shrugged, and Dr. Banner looked back across the room at him. 

“No. They’re more straightforward than that. They’d kill you to your face, and I’m Bruce. Hulk is the green one.” The quiet and timid doctor isn’t so quiet or timid anymore. Good. It’s more interesting this way. 

“I suppose living with a house full of people who want me dead is better than a prison cell on Asgard.” A large hand clapped against his shoulder, and he stumbled forward a step at the force of Thor’s excitement. 

“Well said, brother! When do we return?” 

“After breakfast? I don’t know about you two, but I’m starving. Bruce?” Loki knows everything about the woman, and she knows everything about him. About Thor. He’s surprised that her mind can actually hold so much. 

“After breakfast works for me.” Dr. Banner and the woman turned around to walk away, and Thor motioned for Loki to follow after them. He has a feeling that this situation will turn out disastrous, but he’s curious to see how long it’ll last. His current estimate? Less than a day.

**.xXx.**

“I guess we’re running a little late, huh?” Jo asked as she walked into the kitchen. Breakfast was served about an hour ago, and all the kids are in class now. Anna Marie should probably be teaching a class somewhere, but she’s in the kitchen instead.

“I think you’re allowed to sleep in after swapping brains with a super old alien,” Anna Marie said with a wide smile. 

“Super old _god_. Don’t go insultin’ my religion.” She knows Thor and Loki are right behind her, which is a little surreal, and she watched the way that Anna Marie straightened up as her eyes narrowed. 

“You picked a religion?” She’s never been anti-religion, exactly, but…she was never in a hurry to visit a church either. 

“Yeah. Thorism.” She grinned over her shoulder at the blonde god and caught the look of absolute confusion on Loki’s face. The dude has no idea what he’s in for. 

“You are insane. Eat your poptarts.” Jo caught the silver packet that was tossed to her and frowned. Poptarts just don’t seem the same after eating Thor’s pancakes, so she gently placed the packet on the countertop next to her elbow.

"What? No leftovers?" Yeah, blueberry poptarts are great and everything, but she was hoping for something a little hotter. Possibly some kind of meat. 

“Not for you. The Professor wants to have a word before you leave. He’s waiting in his office for you.” Anna Marie’s eyes are a brighter green than hers but still somehow darker; it’s something that Jo has never been able to figure out. Not that it matters. Her adopted little sis is a looker. Jo reached forward to ruffle Anna Marie’s shortened hair, dodged the swipe at her own braided hair, and barreled into Bruce’s side. 

“Have fun eating all the good food without me,” she said and popped up onto her toes to smack a kiss on his cheek. She knows why the Professor wants to talk to her, thanks to Bruce, and she’s not really looking forward to it. After she stepped away from Bruce, Thor laid a giant hand on her shoulder. She blinked before trailing her eyes up his arm to his eyes, and the god was already smiling at her. 

“Fear not, Jo. Once we return home, I will prepare a feast for you to rival the great feasts of Asgard.” Thor’s memories, and Loki’s, are the most jumbled. Every time she catches a flash of something, it slips away from her. It’s like she’s trying to put a puzzle together without looking at the box first, which is nearly impossible when the puzzle has over a billion pieces. Despite that, she can see flashes of long wooden tables literally weighed down with mountains of food. 

“And that is why you’re my one true god.” 

She could still hear Thor’s loud laughter behind her as she left the kitchen, and her fingertips reached out to idly touch against the walls. A small part of her thought that she’d never come back here, and she never imagined it’d be under these circumstances. Still, it’s good to be back. Nothing has really changed. The technology is probably better, but the house looks the same. Feels the same. This is a safe haven for mutant kids; a place to learn, and a place to be accepted. If she whipped around fast enough, would she able to see a younger version of herself running down the hall? With Kitty thrown over her shoulder and Peter right on her heels as they hurry to class?

“You could still be happy here.” The quiet sound of the Professor’s voice chased away the memory, and she looked down to meet his eyes. He’s waiting just outside of his office, and she reached up to lightly rub the back of her neck. She’d planned on coming back when she first left, but it didn’t exactly go as planned. 

“I’m not an X-Man, sir.” She’s not an Avenger either, but the Avengers are her family. 

“You are still a mutant, and we will always be here to welcome you home.” She knows the words are sincere, and she can feel her eyes burning. The Professor reached forward to grab her hand, just something to anchor and comfort her, and then he moved back into the office. She took a deep breath and followed after him, but she left the door open. They’ll both know if someone gets close. 

“I gotta tell you, sir, I don’t envy you at all. Telepathy isn’t anything like I thought it was,” she said as she carefully lowered herself into a chair in front of his desk. She’s used to just flopping down onto surfaces, she blames Tony’s bad influence, but she’ll always respect the Professor too much to just fall and sprawl all over his furniture. 

“No, I think most people misunderstand what it is like. How intricate and all-consuming it can sometimes be.” Intricate is just a fancy way of saying confusing. People’s thoughts are all mixed up and mostly nonsense, and sometimes just picking up surface thoughts is enough to give her a headache. 

“Yeah, I still get surprised about how much people have going on up there at any given moment,” she said and tapped her temple. 

_“It’d be easier to control if you studied.”_ When the Professor spoke, everything else went quiet. She’s pretty sure that she’s not that good, but two can play this game. 

_“Didn’t wanna study. I wanted it gone. Even you have to admit that I’m not supposed to have it, sir. This isn’t some secondary mutation. This was a bunch of doctors trying to play God.”_ Her mental voice is still quiet, not as strong as the older telepath’s, but she knows that he can hear her. 

_“Then why use it now, Josephine? What changed?”_ If it was anybody else, she’d tell ‘em to mind their own business. Her reasons are her own, but…if there’s anyone that can understand, it’s him. 

_“I wasn’t a good bodyguard. I didn’t need the telepathy to kill people. It was easier not to use it then. Listening to people scream as they died slowly, in pain? Wasn’t anything compared to the silence when they were gone. Just…gone. I didn’t know how to protect someone, so I let the walls down. Tried to understand him. Wound up drowning in him instead. It kind of spiraled out of control, but I think it all worked out for the best. I saved him, and he saved me.”_

There were images to accompany her little speech, and she knew the Professor could see them. War torn cities filled with screams of the dying, even the ones that didn’t have a throat to scream with. That deafening silence whenever she snapped someone’s neck. Then there was Tony’s thoughts. First the anger and the fear when he was drunk, mixed in with her own sense of helplessness. Them learning how to talk with small touches and quiet whispers of Tony’s thoughts, because sometimes the words were just too hard to get out. 

_“Then I suppose I owe Mr. Stark my gratitude.”_ She snorted at that, as delicately as possibly, and slumped back in her chair. 

_“You didn’t look for them earlier, but you can look for them now. I won’t let you in, wouldn’t be very ethical, but you can see them.”_ So many doors are locked up inside of her mind. Each one unique in its own special way. Each one hiding away secrets and memories that should never be shared. 

_“Dr. Banner informed you of our conversation?”_ He noticed the doors, but he didn’t go anywhere near them. That’s good. She doesn’t want to be angry with the Professor. 

_“We’ve got a very honest relationship. I knew what I was doing, sir. I could feel it, each time I created another link. I understood the risks. Still do. One of them goes down and a part of my brain turns to mush. Something monumentally huge goes down? I probably won’t survive it. Lately, I’ve been so tired that it hurts to lift my feet. To breathe sometimes. I know I overdid it, but I wouldn’t take any of it back. They’re safe, and I’ll heal.”_

_“You can’t heal everything, Josephine.”_ Like the rough sound of her own voice. If she’s scalped, only her skin will grow back. Not her hair. Some things just don’t heal. 

_“Maybe not, but I’m strong enough to handle this. Believe in me, Professor.”_ He smiled at her then, something gentle and real, and she felt like a student again. Studying her ass off to try and pass a calculus test. 

_“I have always believed in you, Josephine. Can’t an old man worry about one of his favorite students?”_

_“Favorite, huh? Are you just saying so that I’ll come back and visit before another ten years pass by?”_

“That is so cool! You guys have been staring at each other for like fifteen minutes and having a completely silent conversation! I know you were talking too, because your auras were all… _whoo-whoo-whoo_.” The girl now standing to the side of the Professor’s desk had her cheeks puffed out as she made the weird sound effects and moved her hands through the air, and Jo raised a brow as she looked over at the Professor. The girl literally appeared out of nowhere, and Jo can’t hear her. Not a peep. 

“Josephine, you remember Illyana Rasputin?” The dark blue eyes should have given it away; Illyana’s eyes are the exact same shade as her big brother’s. 

“Little Yana!” Jo yelled as she stood up. Her arms easily went around the girl’s shoulders to pull her in for a hug, and she felt small hands settle against the middle of her back. Illyana is five-five, the same height as Darcy, but she doesn’t have Darcy’s curves. She’s not stick-thin or anything, but she’s still a tiny little thing. 

“I’m legally an adult now,” Illyana pointed out as she pulled away. Jo hasn’t seen Peter’s little sister since she left the mansion, and Illyana was only about eight then. She looks grown up now though. Her blonde hair reaches her shoulders, and she blew a section of dark blonde bangs out of her dark eyes. 

“Barely.” She used to give this kid piggyback rides to class, and Illyana used to get a kick out of painting her toenails. Badly. 

“Still counts. Peter said that you’d help me.” She crossed her arms as she raised her chin, and Jo wracked her brain for her conversation with Peter from the previous day. Missing mentor. Right. 

“I’m more like a middle man. A friend of mine might be able to help, but I haven’t had a chance to ask him yet.” Doing a mental link with a thousand year old god, who could have possibly been evil but thankfully wasn’t, took priority over her thoughts. Then she slept pretty heavily until her nightmares forced her awake, and it’d taken her a little while to fall back asleep. She’s been doing her best not to think about anything too hard since waking up. 

“You and your guests should stay, at least until lunch. The children would like to spend some more time with Hulk, and I believe Ororo mentioned something about showing up Thor?” The Professor said the last part of the inquiry with a teasing smile, and Jo threw her head back in a laugh. 

“Yeah, okay, lunch. The kids can climb Hulk, Thor can marvel at the awesomeness that is Ororo, and we’ll call Tony. Sound good, little Yana?” The blonde narrowed her eyes, but the glare didn’t last long. She laughed quietly as she stepped forward again, and Jo held still as the girl hugged her. 

“No one calls me that anymore,” she said and turned to walk away. Jo glanced at the Professor, and he nodded to let her know that it was okay for her to go. Jo smiled and hurried to catch up to Illyana while yelling after her. 

“I think it’s makin’ a comeback!”

**.xXx.**

“How’s it going?” Sam visibly jumped at the sound of his voice, and Tony tried not to cackle as he fell into the chair across from the startled man. Breakfast was over about an hour ago, forty-three minutes ago, and Tony was proud of himself for holding out so long before cornering Sam again. Surprisingly, in the library. Sam must know that Tony can find him here, since he just did it yesterday.

“You mean with the counseling thing?” Breakfast had been…subdued. Quiet. It might be because Maria attempted to make breakfast in Thor’s absence, and Tony is tempted to ban the woman from the kitchen altogether. They could still smell the smoke in the dining room after that fiasco. They’d had cereal instead, and Thor has really been spoiling them all because Tony had still been hungry when he was finished with his bowl.

“What else would I be asking about?” He’d already agreed to the counseling thing, so he didn’t stick around after his disappointing bowl of Wheaties. So he’s not sure who approached Sam and who didn’t. 

“Darcy and Skye agreed first, which isn’t that surprising. Doreen told me to sign her up and then actually winked at me before leaving. Steve and Maria both just stared me down before nodding, once. Just dipped their heads and stalked off. Logan laughed and said he didn’t need therapy from a guy a fraction of his age. Clint caught my eye when I walked into the kitchen, jumped up onto the counter, and disappeared into an air vent. Natasha has been a complete no-show. Pepper sent me a text and said she’d agree to therapy, but only after work hours. So, I guess that’s everyone except for the assassins and the current missing members.”

“Clint and Natasha will come around.” Sam raised a skeptical eyebrow, but Tony knows these people. Sort of. “Maybe. You can put Jo and Bruce down too, since it was Jo’s idea and Bruce agreed. Not so sure about Thor and Loki.”

“I’ll work them in at the end.” There was a notebook spread open in front of Sam, and Tony leaned forward to get a better look. It was a chart, and a very detailed one at that. 

“Do you want a tablet or something? Probably make that a lot easier.” Sam looked up and over at him, and Tony met his stare head-on. If they’re really going to do this, he might as well get used to looking the guy in the eye. 

“Some of us like doing things the old fashioned way.” Tony made a face, and he knows that he made a face because Sam started cracking up. He just doesn’t see the point in carrying around a notebook and a pen when you could have something digital. He doesn’t even need a tablet anymore. It’s all in his brain. 

“You’re boring, Wilson. So, do you charge by the hour?” The smile slowly faded from Sam’s face, and Tony resisted the urge to shift. He’s too cool to shift uncomfortably in his chair. 

“I’m not charging anything.”

“Man’s gotta make a living,” Tony pointed out. Sam crossed his arms as he leaned back in his seat, and Tony stayed perfectly still. He’s not even sprawling. 

“I got my veteran’s benefits and some savings. I’m not gonna charge any of you. Doesn’t seem very team-like.” 

“Pro-bono work then? Suit yourself.” He pressed his palms flat against the table as he got to his feet, and Sam twirled his pencil between his fingers. 

“See you tomorrow after breakfast.” They’re starting that soon? There’s really no point in putting it off, but…he agreed to this. He agreed to this, and he’s going to go through with it. 

“See you at dinner.”

When he got back to the lab, Skye was already there and clearly not waiting on him. She was sitting cross-legged on top of a table, three screens were surrounding her, and she was fixing Dum-E’s sweater for him without ever looking away from all of the fast moving information. Tony loves Darcy, loves her in some kind of weird paternal-sibling mix (but mostly paternal at this point), but he can admit that she wasn’t happy here in the lab. She enjoyed watching him work and actually listened to his explanations, but none of this was her cup of tea. Skye, on the other hand, seems to thrive up here. 

“Tony! I think I’ve got something!” She waved her arms in the air, like he couldn’t already see her, and Dum-E zipped off as he got closer. He hasn’t tried to remove the sweater in weeks, so the little guy needs to stop being so paranoid. 

“What’d ya find, kid?” Her nose wrinkled a little at that, but it just keeps slipping out of him. Skye hasn’t asked him to stop though, so he’s not going to try. 

“This is Bruce’s file, right? It’s just a bunch of numbers instead of names, but there’s a lot of gamma talk. It’s not really making sense though. Something about containment?” She squinted as she turned to another screen, and she quickly adjusted the area she was referencing to make it bigger. Only a few words jumped out at him, but they were enough to confirm his working theory. 

_Containment. Not safe. Cube._

“This is Emil Blonsky’s file. He was originally given a low dose of knock-off super soldier serum and was sent after Hulk. He failed, spectacularly, and got an upgrade. A stronger serum increased his strength and caused some deformities, but he still wasn’t strong enough to stand against Hulk. So he got dosed with some of Bruce’s radioactive blood and became the Abomination. He and Hulk kind of broke Harlem.”

He pulled up a video, the same one that he first watched two years ago before he ever saw Hulk in person, and watched the way that Skye’s eyes widened as she took in the destruction. Tony knows that Hulk didn’t want to destroy the entire area, but Abomination didn’t exactly give him a choice. Seeing the fight is still…breath taking. So much raw power.

“What happened next?” Skye asked, without looking away from the screen. 

“Well, Bruce ran off, because that’s just how Bruce was. Abomination was locked away in the Cube apparently.”

“The same Cube that was just recently broken into so that all of the prisoners could escape?” This is not good. This is like the definition of _not-good_. 

“The one and the same.” When a loud ringing suddenly echoed in the lab, they both jumped. Skye laughed as she pressed a hand over her chest, and Tony rolled his eyes as he connected the call. Using his brain. 

“Yo, Tony! Still in one piece, boss?” Jo’s rough voice was loud in the lab, and Skye was already focused back on the screens around her. 

“Completely whole. How you holding up, sweetheart?” Skye snorted at the term of endearment but didn’t turn to look at him. 

“Pretty good, all things considered. The Professor is currently canceling morning classes so that we can all witness the power of Thor and Storm, so don’t be surprised if there’s any freak weather.”

“You mean I’m stuck in a lab, slaving away, and you’re playing with the weather?” Skye laughed outright at that, and Tony raised his index finger to spin around as a way to tell her to turn around and mind her own business. 

“You love that lab, and you know it. I have to literally drag you out of there at night, and there’s not enough money in the world that could make me miss watching Ororo take on Thor. This is gonna be one for the ages.” Jo sounded genuinely excited, and Tony was happy for her. His indestructible bodyguard has been looking more than a little tired lately, so she deserves some happiness. 

“Hey! Don’t forget about the actual reason you’re calling!” another voice shouted in the background. Female. Hard to tell the age. 

“Right! Sorry, Yana.” There was the sound of a frustrated scream, so Tony’s going to guess either a young woman or possibly even a teenager. 

“Everything okay?” He can still hear the faint sound of the unknown girl yelling, but he can’t make out the actual words. Sounds Russian. 

“Yeah, well, I’m not sure. Remember how I told you about my friend Peter? Big guy? Can turn his body into metal?” Even before seeing Jo’s memories, she told him about her friends from the school. 

“I know who Colossus is.” He hasn’t met very many mutants, but he’s done his research. 

“Right. His little sister, Illyana, is a mutant too. Completely different mutation. She’s a recent graduate, and she’s been looking for her mentor. Her mentor is completely human, but she’s a witch. She’s been missing for a few months, and Illyana says it’s not like her to just up and disappear. Think you can do that nifty facial recognition thing and find her?” 

“Some people would say that my facial recognition software is unethical.” Jo huffed, which only made Tony smile. “Yeah, I’ll get right on it. Bring her with you, and I’ll see what I can do.”

“You’re the best, boss!” There was some high-pitched squealing in the distance, so either the girl heard him or Jo gave her some kind of sign. 

“I know I am. What’s her full name? I’ll go ahead and start looking.” There was some shuffling, a few quiet grunts, and then the girl’s voice came over the speaker. 

“Her name is Jade Howland. That’s H-O-W-L-A-N-D. No middle name. Her birthday is August sixteenth. Nineteen eighty-nine. Thank you so much for helping me, Mr. Stark!” More shuffling, more yelling, and Jo was back on the phone. 

“That good enough to start with?” Jo sounded a little breathless, but she also sounded…happy. A little lighter. 

“I think I can work with it. You planning on coming back anytime this year?” He knows that they just left yesterday, but he and Jo haven’t been apart since…since…since she started working for him. 

“Be home right after lunch. The jet’ll have us back in, what, half an hour? I’ll be there, Tony.”

“See you then.” He was getting ready to disconnect when Jo’s loud yell stopped him, and he saw Skye looking at him over her shoulder. “What now?”

“I love you!” Skye collapsed onto her side in unrestrained laughter, and Tony rolled his eyes despite the warmth in his chest. 

“Love you too, sweetheart. Tell Thor I’m cheering for him.” Jo was still laughing when the call disconnected, and Skye was wiping tears away from the corner of her eyes as she continued to laugh. 

“You two are ridiculously sweet, you know that? I mean I get it, but, dude. I thought those kinds of relationships were for sickly sweet movies or unrealistic books, but you two are real. With the cuddles, and the pet names, and the willing to actually die for each other. You’re both so unreal,” Skye rambled out while her hands waved around. Tony hummed as he moved over to where she was sitting, and he propped his hip against the side of the table. 

“I grew up alone. I had a father, a mother, nannies, tutors, drivers…the whole nine yards. Charmed life, right? My parents loved me, my mother showed it more, but it always felt impersonal. Then they died, and I was alone. It was easier being alone, but I’ve got a feeling that you already know that.” Skye fidgeted with the edge of her sleeves, which were pulled down past her fingers now, and nodded her head. 

“It’s easier when you have no one. Can’t get hurt that way.” He’s not one for comforting. His way of dealing with emotions is to make a joke, laugh it off, and then walk away. He’s not going to change that completely, but he can change his MO just this once. 

“Yeah, you can. I kept everyone at arm’s length, and I still wound up with this.” He tapped the center of his chest, listened to the way his flesh tapped against the metal even through the cotton of his shirt, and sighed. “Jo was the first person that was just…there. She didn’t want anything from me, other than to keep me alive. She had no expectations, no demands, nothing. All she wanted to do was keep me safe, even from myself. That kind of unselfish and undemanding love? It’s special.”

“I keep thinking that I don’t belong here. Gods, superheroes, super geniuses, mutants…I’m no one. Right now I should be sitting in a cubicle and hating my life. Because this? I don’t know when or how, but this is going to hurt me.” Yeah, that’s something that he’s been afraid of too. Still is, sometimes, when he stops to really think about it. 

“Then make some happy memories to look back on.”

“Pep talks aren’t your thing, huh?” He’s pretty sure he remembers saying something similar to that to Jo once. 

“Not really. Now, let’s take down Abomination’s file and move him into the Shit-To-Deal-With-Later pile.”

“We have a pile for that?!”

**.xXx.**

“Ho-ly. Shit,” Illyana whispered next to her. Jo cut her eyes over at the younger mutant and then pointedly looked at the rather large gathering of children close to them.

“Young ears! Watch your language!” Illyana rolled her eyes but still managed not to look away from the spectacle in front of them. Thor and Ororo were facing each other in the middle of the open field, and Thor’s laugh seemed to shake the ground every time Ororo did something new. 

“He has not even reached for his hammer,” Loki muttered on her other side. She’s flanked by the god and Illyana, and she’s got a perfect view of the morning’s festivities. 

“Because this isn’t a fight. It’s a demonstration,” Jo muttered back. Thor might be in his Asgardian gear and looking the part of a god, but this isn’t even a friendly spar. They’re just showing off. The sky above them is dark, and lightning keeps lighting up all around them. Jo knows that no one is in danger of being struck though, because Ororo or Thor would never let something like that happen. 

“It’s a demonstration of awesomeness,” Illyana whispered and started bouncing lightly on her toes. Jo was getting ready with a comeback when a force slammed into her back, and she instantly reached up to grab the legs currently wrapped around her middle. 

“Come on, Storm! Show ‘im how us mutants do it!” Anna Marie yelled over her head. Her adopted sister is currently attached to her back and holding on with just her legs, and Jo listened as Remy stepped up to Illyana’s other side. White eyes flashed over at them as Ororo smiled, and Jo watched on as she raised one hand towards the sky. 

“Looks like it’s about to get interestin’,” Remy drawled and crossed his arms. A large bolt of lightning struck Ororo’s outstretched arm, and her body twisted as she threw the energy straight at Thor. Grooves of grass were ripped up as Thor caught the ball of lightning with his bare hands, and the ground actually did shake as he raised his foot and stomped down. Ororo rolled with the movement and dodged the lightning that Thor tossed back, and Jo actually gasped as they flew at each other. Sparks flew as they started trading blows, but she knew they were doing it for the kids. The little ones were cheering like they were watching a fireworks display. 

“Child’s play,” Loki huffed. The god still isn’t looking his best, too thin and pale, but his eyes are a brilliant green again. It’s progress. 

“Well, they are doing it for the children,” Jo pointed out. 

“We haven’t had a demonstration like this in forever,” Anna Marie said and propped her chin on top of Jo’s head. 

“Yeah, because no one is crazy enough to go against Storm. She can make a hurricane,” Illyana said while her eyes danced back and forth. 

“I think Thor could handle a hurricane,” Jo mused. Loki made some kind of noise, it was too dignified to be a snort or a huff, so she’s guessing that he agrees. Jo looked away from the localized destruction and to the left, and she smiled over at the large grouping of children. All of the younger children are surrounding Hulk, who’s sitting on the ground and looks perfectly content as a dozen mutant children crawl all over him. Well, they’re mostly being still at the moment, but they keep rearranging themselves to see better. 

“That is the sappiest face I have ever seen, and I was the flower girl at Kitty and Peter’s wedding,” Illyana said after knocking her shoulder against Jo’s arm. 

“I thought they had a courthouse wedding?” Kitty and Peter had basically the same personality. Neither one of them liked to make a fuss or be the center of attention, so they got married quietly. 

“They did, and I threw flowers at them when they walked out. Point is, your face looks dopey.” She probably does have some kind of dopey smile on her face, but she can’t help it. She loves it when Bruce and Hulk are both happy, and she can actually feel how happy and content they both are. She can’t hear their thoughts or anything, but there’s a lingering feeling spilling out of Bruce’s door of happiness and contentment. Anna Marie huffed and slipped off her back, and Jo watched her slump against Remy’s side before addressing Illyana. 

“I love Hulk, so I’m allowed to look dopey.” When she turned back to see Thor and Ororo shaking hands, she caught the contemplative look on Loki’s face from the corner of her eye. “And what is that look for?”

“I just find it strange that you easily proclaim your love for the monster but not for the man.” Her first instinct was to punch Loki, but she managed to hold back. 

“Hulk’s not a monster. Call him that again, and we will throw down. Got it?” Most of her feels bad for Loki. She saw the way that he was tortured, over and over again, and she can sympathize with that. No one badmouths her Hulk though. 

“You truly do love him.”

“Of course I do, and I care about Bruce too. We’re currently the only ones on your side, so you should try to be a little nicer.” Loki hummed but didn’t say anything as Thor moved over to them, and Jo noticed the burn spots on his armor. Go, Ororo!

“Have fun?” Illyana asked the god with a big smile. Jo’s gotta hand it to the girl, she’s fearless. Thor looked down at her and grinned, wide enough to show his pearly whites, and nodded. 

“The lightning she calls forth is different from my own, and she is a formidable warrior.” He’s not wrong. She’s never really seen Ororo in a real fight, but she’s heard stories. Stories that gave even her goosebumps. 

“That she is. Yana, if you’re coming with us, you’d better go tell Peter and pack a bag. We’re leaving after lunch.” Illyana snapped off a salute and bounced off, and Jo shook her head. Illyana’s still so young, only nineteen, but she’s tough. She’s strong. “Alright, I’m gonna go grab Hulk so that Bruce can eat. After this meal, we’re going home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won’t lie to you wonderful people; I wrote the majority of this chapter while I was half asleep. Literally. Propped up in a recliner with my eyes drooping, talking out loud as I typed and possibly scaring my dog, the whole nine yards. So that’s why there were so many speeches (my sleepy brain tends to ramble), but I like this chapter. It shows that what Jo did isn’t something to be taken lightly, but she’s going to power through it. There’s also the Loki bits, which have been a mixture of fun and challenging. As for the Thor and Storm thing, I highly recommend googling some images of the two of them. There’s some pretty amazing panels out there with the two of them; I just wish I’d been able to expand on their scene and show them really facing off. (Maybe in a future chapter?)
> 
> The Abomination-Hulk stuff mentioned during Tony and Skye’s talk is from The Incredible Hulk. I know it’s not Marvel’s best work, but I actually enjoyed the movie. (I do love Ruffalo’s portrayal more…if we could just get him to do a solo Hulk movie, my life would be complete.)
> 
> The mutant introduced in this chapter, Illyana Rasputin, is owned by Marvel. She’s the younger sister of Peter Rasputin, and her mutation is complicated. I’ve simplified it some, or a lot, for this story. More will be explained as the story progresses. I just want to make it clear that she is from the Marvel Universe. In this story, I picture her as Britt Robertson. Again, you’re free to imagine her however you want, but I like having a visual model to work with. 
> 
> One last thing, I posted another story! It's a one-shot about Thor and Doreen, and it's completely unrelated to this story. If you'd like to read it, the title is [The Day That Monkey Joe Ran Away](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8699314)


	42. Beautiful Family Moment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _you can’t wake up_
> 
> _this is not a dream_
> 
> _you’re part of a machine_
> 
> _you are not a human being_
> 
> **Gasoline by Halsey**

Lunch is nothing like the other two meals of the day, which is something that Skye figured out almost immediately. Breakfast is early, and they all sit together. Dinner is at a reasonable time, and they all sit together. Lunch is a free for all. Someone usually brings up something for her and Tony, because Tony always forgets to eat, but there’s no one around to do that today. Pepper and Darcy are both at the Stark Tower here in New York, working. Jo and Thor are at that mutant school, and Skye isn’t sure about everyone else. The house feels kinda tense, and she’s got a feeling that it has something to do with the therapy thing. Skye thinks it’s a good idea, considering everything that’s happened, but she hasn’t lived the same kind of life as the other people in this house. She’s only been dealing with all of this for like a week. Some people, like Natasha, have been dealing with it their entire lives. 

Speaking of Natasha, she thought about asking for the assassin’s help in regards to her new…abilities. Now she’s not so sure, especially after the woman pulled a ghost after breakfast and just vanished. Besides, the first stage of testing should be pretty simple. She dropped off Tony’s sandwich in the lab before retreating into her own room, and she’s just sitting on her bed now. The knife that the stranger gave her is lying on one thigh, but she hasn’t touched it since she sat it down. With a sigh, she knocked the knife onto the bed and got to her feet. She stripped off her long-sleeved shirt, which left her upper body bare except for the purple bra she was wearing, and stepped over to the full-length mirror on the back of her closet door. 

She looks like she’s always looked. Tan skin, slight curves, flat stomach. Her upper body doesn’t really have any muscle tone, but her legs are kinda strong from all of her daily runs. Which she’s been slacking on and should probably continue soon. There are, however, a few key differences. Like the scars. Twelve dark pink scars dot across her stomach in a square, from where the nails were pulled out. On her right ribcage, right in the middle, is a raised white scar. It’s only an inch thick, about two inches long, and her skin is more sensitive there. She’s never been ticklish before, but that spot tickles whenever she touches it. Her left shoulder is a mess. Well, the front isn’t so bad. Just a puckered white spot, off to the side of her collarbone. She twisted her upper body to see her back, and that’s where the bullet came out. It’s about twice the size of the mark on the front of her shoulder, maybe a little bigger than that, and it’s more jagged. Still white and raised. 

She shifted back to look at her reflection right on, and she reached up to brush her hair away from the left side of her face. She pressed her hair against the top of her head so that she could get an unimpeded look at her left temple, and the scar there is red. Not bright red or anything. Faded. Nearly a pink color. It’s small, maybe the length of her fingernail, but it’s dented in instead of raised like the others. Her hair fell back down, but she kept her left hand raised. It aches sometimes. The hole on the back of her hand isn’t that big. Just a small sunken in white scar. Most of the scar tissue is on the palm of her hand; the raised white scar takes up nearly the entirety of her palm, and she traced the fingers of her other hand against the raised ridges. 

The scars don’t make any sense. If she got shot in the head, wouldn’t there be a scar there too? Or, alternatively, shouldn’t she be scar-free? She saw Darcy in a tank top last night, and Darcy doesn’t have any scars. Not a single one. If she can heal, she shouldn’t have scars. Darcy, Jo, Logan…none of them have any physical scars. So it doesn’t really make any sense, and she’s always been the curious type. She feels different, stronger somehow, but she’s still curious. What if she can’t heal?

After getting the knife from her bed, she moved back in front of her mirror. Just one little cut. That’s how Darcy was tested at first, and Darcy healed instantly. Skye raised the knife and forced her eyes to stay open as she placed the blade against her left bicep. It was cold, but it warmed up the longer she left it against her skin. Waiting isn’t going to help anything. She needs to get this over with. She clenched her teeth, as hard as she could, and pressed down. It took a second for the pain to register, for her skin to go from numb to burning, and she gasped as she pulled the knife away. The sudden move caused the cut to become a little deeper and longer than she originally intended, and she stayed immobile as she watched the first line of blood bubble over and run down her arm. Followed by another bubble and streak. And another one. She isn’t healing. 

“Hey, Skye, I think I figured out a—What are you doing?!” She could feel rough fingers gripping her right wrist and felt the knife being pulled out of her hand, but she was still watching her blood drip down her arm. The dark red color is dripping off her elbow and onto the floor now. 

“I can’t heal.” Her body was shook and jerked around until she was facing the side, and she looked up just the smallest bit to meet a pair of wide brown eyes. Tony. Tony’s the one that’s gripping her right wrist hard enough to hurt and looking at her like she’s crazy. Which, maybe she is. 

“What were you thinking?” Tony’s voice was quieter, but he still sounded angry. 

“I still have scars from what happened, but I shouldn’t have scars since I healed. So I had to see, and I didn’t heal. I can’t heal. I might have a mutant ability, but that’s not it.” Her words sounded distorted, but that’s probably because she can’t really hear anything over the sound of her pulse beating in her ears. Tony’s eyes quickly ran her over, and she watched as he catalogued the marks against her skin. 

“We need to get you fixed up. JARVIS, anyone here capable of stitching?” 

“Dr. Banner, Agent Hill, Master Sam, and Master Clint are all proficient at stitches. Master Clint is the only one currently inside the mansion. Would you like me to call for him or one of the others, sir?” 

“You okay with Clint taking care of you?” She looked away from Tony’s eyes and down at her arm, which was still bleeding steadily, and swayed a little on her feet. 

“Yeah, but I need to put a shirt on first.” Tony shrugged out of the jacket he was wearing, she remembers him tugging it on while he was working on equations, and she let him put it around her shoulders. He pushed her right arm through the sleeve and then held the bottom together so that he could zip it up. Her left arm was still hanging out so it was a little awkward, but she was mostly all covered up. 

“Master Clint is waiting in the medical facility, sir.” Tony nodded and darted into the bathroom, and Skye looked at the floor between her feet as he pressed a towel against her bleeding arm. His free hand grabbed her right hand, and he carefully pulled her from the room. No one stopped them on their way to the elevator or on the way down, and her eyes widened as they got closer to the med facility. 

“Stark! I was having a perfectly good time in the arcade! Why am I in—What happened to your arm, Skye?” Skye shifted uneasily as the archer stared at her arm, and Tony pulled her farther into the room.

“Little accident. JARVIS said you know how to stitch?” Tony pressed her right hand against the bloody towel on her arm and then moved his hands down to her hips, and she felt a little numb as he lifted her up to sit on the table. 

“Bruce has been teaching me a few things. Bettering my technique and all that.” 

“Please tell me that you have stitched a real live human being,” Tony said as he pulled the towel away. He gently wiped at the blood under the cut, cleaning her up, and she heard Clint moving around. 

“Do I count?”

“It’s close enough.” 

Skye held still as Clint cleaned her up with gloved hands, and Tony laced their fingers together as Clint started to stitch her up. He’d done something to make her arm numb, so it didn’t hurt. She could feel the way her skin pulled every time he moved, so she looked down at her right hand instead. Tony’s fingers were bigger than hers, rougher, but his hold was gentle. She looked over at Clint and focused on his hands instead of what his hands were doing. Wide palms, long fingers. She watched the way that his forearm flexed when he pulled up, and she gets why Darcy has a crush on him. She doesn’t know much about his personality yet, but he’s definitely easy on the eyes. 

“I know this is a stupid question, but I’m gonna ask it anyway. Feeling okay?” Clint’s looking right at her, and his eyes are really cool looking. They’re almost like a mint green color, with a dark brown color circling around his pupils. 

“I’m fine. Kinda tired.” The day is only half over, but she feels like she could sleep for a week. Clint nodded at her and picked up a silver tray, and she looked at his back as he went about disposing everything. Tony moved so that he was standing in front of her, and she looked down at his thin gray shirt as he unzipped the jacket she was wearing. There was a faint blue glow shining through the fabric, and she stayed quiet as Tony gently moved her left arm into the sleeve and then zipped her back up. 

“I’m taking her upstairs to sleep it off. Keep this between us for now?” Tony picked her up by her hips, again, and set her down on the floor. 

“You got it.” Skye looked at Clint one last time as Tony pulled her out of the room, and it took no time at all for them to reach the third floor again. No, wait, this isn’t the third floor. This is the seventh floor, where the labs are. Tony walked them into his lab and then to the couch in the back of the room, and she blinked up at him as he sat her down on the couch. 

“Lay down and get some rest. I’ll be right here.” Her body moved on autopilot so that she was curled up on her right side, with a large throw pillow under her head, and Tony tugged the blanket off of the back of the couch to drape over her. She grabbed his hand before he could pull back, and she felt like her insides were shaking. 

“She shot me in the head, and I survived. All the gunshot wounds healed. How?” One hand smoothed across the top of her head, and it was a comforting gesture. Or it would have been if she wasn’t completely freaking out. 

“I don’t know, but we’ll figure it out after you wake up. Just get some rest for now.” She wanted to scream. Maybe throw some stuff around. She wanted to do a lot of things, but she just numbly nodded her head instead and closed her eyes.

**.xXx.**

“You have the ability to move through time and space?” They’re nearly at the mansion now, just a few minutes out, and Jo smiled as she listened to Thor question Illyana.

“Sure do, but I’m kind of limited. I can’t travel very far yet, and I stay away from the future. Too much temptation, and I don’t wanna mess anything up. Space is a little easier. I’m getting really good at astral projection though, which is how I was able to eavesdrop on Jo and the Professor. Not that either of them were talking out loud!” Illyana and Thor are seated behind her, so she just raised her hand and waved it a little. 

“Astral…projection? Like Loki’s magic tricks?” Thor asked. 

“It is not a magic trick,” Loki said quickly. The god has been mostly silent, unless something is said directly to him or about him. 

“Everyone has an astral body. I can just separate it from my physical body and go walking around without anyone noticing.” Yeah, little Yana is a weird one. It explains why she chose a witch as a mentor though, even if the witch is completely human. Witches, the good ones anyway, are all about balance and inner peace. With abilities like Illyana’s, those are good skills to learn. 

“I think it’s quite fascinating,” Bruce said quietly but still loud enough for Illyana to hear. 

“So’s your other half! The green one, not Jo. She’s pretty average when it comes to mutant abilities.”

“Hey! My mutant abilities are awesome!” she quickly protested. Before the telepathy, she was categorized as an offensive mutant. She’s good at defending too, of course, but her abilities make her a good fighter. It’s why she wanted to join the X-Men in the first place. So that she could keep everyone safe. 

“Yeah, yeah. _Tank_.”

“Better than Magik!” Getting a codename is like a rite of passage at Xavier’s, but Jo’s pretty sure that all of the good names have already been taken. It’s just not fair. 

“Prepare for landing.” JARVIS’s calm voice cut off their oncoming squabble, and Jo listened as everyone buckled in. The jet barely moved at all as it landed, and Jo was the first one off. She’s never been a big fan of being contained several feet in the air, and she took a minute to just breathe in the fresh air. 

“Welcome home!” 

“Tony!” Her poor boss clearly wasn’t prepared for her to jump on him, and they went tumbling back onto the hard roof. The arc reactor pushed against her chest, and Tony’s breath stuttered as his back hit the ground. Jo was immediately on her knees, sitting on his stomach, and running her hands over his chest and face. “Shit! I didn’t mean to hurt ya, boss! Can you hear me?”

“You knocked the breath out of me. Not my eardrums. Bruce! Little help!” Tony called out. Jo pouted as strong hands hooked under her arms, but she smiled over her shoulder at Bruce once she was standing again. He briefly smiled back and then bent down to help Tony to his feet, and her smile only grew as Bruce carefully brushed off Tony’s back. 

“Please tell me you’re banging both of them,” Illyana whispered. Jo looked over and realized that the girl was watching Bruce and Tony talk, and she raised a brow. 

“Tony’s technically my boss, somehow became my best friend, and is my platonic life partner. He’s also engaged to another woman, so it’s just me and Bruce. Aren’t you too young to talk about banging?” She can’t seem to get her brain to accept that little Yana isn’t eight years old anymore. 

“So, that means I probably shouldn’t hit on him either, huh?” Illyana grinned as she asked it, so Jo knows the girl is just messing with her, but she hooked an arm around her neck and pulled her closer anyway. 

“No flirting with anyone in the mansion. If they flirt with you first, tell me so that I can kick their ass. I promised your brother I’d take care of you, and I take my promises very seriously,” Jo said in her most menacing voice. Illyana just rolled her eyes and pushed away from her. 

“Fun sucker.” Jo wanted to retaliate, because she is a fun person, but she saw the look in Tony’s eyes. Yeah, he’s talking like normal, but that’s not his real smile. It’s too…slick. 

“Something wrong, boss?” Tony’s eyes flicked over at Illyana, then over at Loki, and finally settled back on her. 

“Nothing wrong. I just need to consult with my bodyguard and science bro for a bit. Nearly everyone is currently out, but I don’t want to take any chances so, Thor? Mind keeping Loki in your room until we get everyone together? I want to have a talk with everyone first. Set some ground rules. That kind of thing.”

“That is acceptable,” Thor said and bowed his head. 

“What about me? Gonna leave me on the roof?” Illyana asked. 

“Yeah, I still haven’t figured out where to house you yet. All the guest rooms are full. We’ll figure it out later. For now, you’re free to go play in the arcade. There’s a guy in there named Clint, but he’s harmless. I’ll let him know you’re coming.” When there was silence for the next few moments, Illyana turned and looked at her. 

“How’s he gonna alert this Clint guy?” Illyana asked. 

“Well, Tony’s brain is kinda hooked up like a computer. So he’s talking to this artificial intelligence system that he created to tell Clint that he’s gonna have a guest to entertain, and I’ll come get you as soon as I can,” Jo said quickly. She could actually hear Tony talking to JARVIS, which is something that she’s still adjusting to. 

“You mean JARVIS? The guy who flew the jet?”

“That’s the one. Take the elevator down to the basement, and JARVIS will direct you to the arcade.” Illyana nodded along, so it’s good to know that she can just go with the flow. 

“This way, Lady Illyana,” Thor said and moved over to where the elevator was. Tony turned to watch the trio walk away, and he shook his head after the doors were closed. 

“Never thought I’d willingly let Loki into my house,” Tony mumbled. 

“I can’t show you what I saw, it’s not right, but it really wasn’t his fault,” Jo said quietly. Tony nodded, almost absently, but he smiled when she laced their fingers. Bruce was on her other side, and it felt good to be standing between the both of them. 

“We’ll tackle that issue later. Right now, there’s something else that I want to talk about,” Tony said and sighed. That doesn’t sound like good news. Then again, getting bad news shouldn’t be a surprise at this point.

**.xXx.**

Illyana tightened her fingers around the straps hooked over her shoulders, because she only brought a backpack with her, and looked around. Thor and Loki got off the elevator several floors ago, so she’s the only one down here in the basement. Well, there’s apparently some dude named Clint lurking around down here, but she doesn’t know him. Man, this is not what she was expecting when she asked for Jo’s help. It’d been Kitty’s idea, when she heard that Jo was coming for a quick visit. They all know that Jo has been working for Tony Stark, and Tony Stark has the best technology on the planet. She’s lived at the school ever since she was five years old, so it’s weird being away from it. She wanted to travel after graduation, but she wanted to travel with Jade. Who was now missing. Which is why she’s here in this maze of a basement!

“Get lost?” She visibly jumped at the sound of the voice, and the guy in front of her raised his hands. It’s the universally known I’m-a-good-guy-not-gonna-hurt-you pose. He might be a good guy, but she’d bet her lucky socks that he can hurt someone. For one, it’s just common sense. This is the home of the Avengers, and they’re all good at violence. Even if it is violence for the right reasons. For two, she can see the guy’s aura. It’s not a threatening one or anything, but she can see the patches in it. The anger and the pain. 

“Only a lot. What all is even down here?” The guy smiled, a nice smile, and his aura brightened a little. 

“Well, there’s the arcade, which is where we’re headed.” He was walking straight ahead with her just a step behind him. “A gym, a theater, and the med facility. Little bit of everything.”

“You’ve never seen the school,” she said with a grin of her own. This place is nice, but it’s not as big as the school. Although, the school has to hold a lot more people. 

“I don’t think they’d like me dropping by for a visit.” He’s definitely older than her. Late twenties or early thirties, but his aura looks even older than that. Heavier. He’s lived through, and suffered, a lot. 

“Hey, we’re not anti-human. Unless they’re anti-mutant, of course,” she pointed out. He stopped in a doorway, and Illyana could make out a lot of bright lights shining from around him. 

“No worries there. I like mutants.” He turned around fully to face her and stuck his hand out. “Clint Barton.”

“Illyana Rasputin,” she said and reached forward. His grip was strong without being too tight, and she could feel rough calluses on his palms and fingers. 

“Nice to meet ya, Illyana. Wanna play Mario Cart?” She can read tragedy in his aura, but his eyes are clear and a really pretty mix of colors. 

“Depends. You’re not a sore loser, are you?” When he laughed, the rough patches of his aura shone with light. Maybe this place won’t be so bad.

**.xXx.**

“Shit! Is she okay?” Jo asked quickly. She’ll never forget what it was like to hold a knife against Darcy’s arm, to test her healing abilities, but Darcy didn’t have to face that alone. Jo had been there for her, for better or worse, no matter the outcome. Skye tested herself alone, and the results were not what Jo was expecting.

“Clint patched her up and gave her something for the pain. She’s sleeping it off now,” Tony said quickly and ran a hand over his face. She knows it hasn’t been very long, but she can feel how attached Tony already is to the girl. They have the same interests, and she looks up to him purely for his intellect. 

“She scarred?” Bruce asked. The three of them are gathered in Bruce’s lab, because Skye’s still asleep in Tony’s lab. 

“All of them. It wasn’t a perfect healing. So, I checked the footage from that night. I haven’t looked at it since everything went down. I didn’t think I needed to, but I missed something. We missed something.” The three of them are the only ones that actually saw what happened, except for maybe Logan. He was there when the gun actually fired. 

“What’d we miss?” Jo asked when it stayed quiet for too long. Tony pulled up the video in front of them, and they huddled together to watch the footage. Tony enlarged it so that they could clearly see the barrel of the gun pressed against Skye’s head, and Jo wanted to look away but knew that she couldn’t. 

“Okay, here it is.” Before the trigger was pulled, the gun moved back. It didn’t fire pressed tight against Skye’s forehead. There was a good two inches of space, and Jo felt her eyes widen as the space around Skye became distorted. The bullet missed her head and shot upwards to embed in the headboard. Blood appeared on her forehead, a sloppy smear, but there was never any kind of impact. 

“What the…” Jo trailed off as the video rewound and focused on the bare skin of Skye’s hand. 

“See there? It’s so light that we missed it the first time around.” The edges around the hole in Skye’s hand was a pale green as the wound closed, but the color was so pale that it was nearly impossible to see. Nearly, because they could see it now. 

“So, Viper healed her. Or, whoever was helping Viper healed her. That doesn’t explain the bullet though. What the hell was that, Tony?” she asked quietly. 

“I had some theories, so I ran a few tests on that night. This is the only explanation I can come up with.” The giant hologram changed to show charts and numbers, but it was all gibberish to Jo. 

“What am I looking at?” she finally asked. 

“It’s seismic,” Bruce answered and stepped closer. “It’s small, barely perceptible, but it’s seismic. You think Skye caused this?”

“The spike occurred at the exact same time that the bullet was fired, and it only lasted for a second. Completely localized. Nothing anywhere else was affected. We know that she has an X-gene, but I don’t think she has the same mutation as Darcy. I believe she was able to repel the bullet, and that the new flex of power caused her to become unconscious. I saw her arm; she can’t heal.”

“You think Skye can create earthquakes?” Jo’s heard of all kinds of mutations, so it’s not impossible. It’s entirely possible. 

“We won’t know unless it happens again, outside of Viper’s influence.” Tony closed his eyes, and Jo could hear the whirl of his thoughts mixed in with machinery. “Vitals predict that Skye will wake up soon. Darcy’s at the office, and Logan is who-knows-where. I think they need to be here when we tell Skye. I’ll call Darcy, and you’ll call Logan?”

“Sure, no problem. What about Loki?” Jo asked quickly. 

“After we know Skye is okay, we’ll have a meeting.” Jo groaned quietly, because team meetings are rarely fun, and Tony smiled at her. She could hear him already calling the Stark office, so she pulled her phone out of her pocket and quickly called Logan. 

“Hey, Logan. Please tell me you didn’t wander too far off.”

**.xXx.**

Darcy stumbled to a stop as she registered the serious look on Pepper’s face, and she had to scramble not to drop the tablet she’d been furiously pecking at for the past twenty minutes. Her and Pepper both have a rule about leaving the office at five, even if they do usually bring some kind of work home with them, so she’s trying to get this done before quitting time. Pepper has got a very serious look on her face though, and she’s actually holding the phone in her hand instead of balancing it between her ear and shoulder. That can’t mean anything good. At Darcy’s questioning look, Pepper raised a single finger and then spoke into the phone.

“We’re leaving now. Assuming traffic isn’t too bad, we’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” Pepper hung up and swept her bangs out of her eyes, and Darcy shifted nervously on her feet. She tried to wait for Pepper to compose what she wanted to say, but Darcy’s not always the patient type. 

“Is everything okay? Did Tony blow himself up this time? Are Jo and Bruce okay? Thor and Loki? Is it HYDRA? Viper?” The questions just flew out before she could stop them, and Pepper quickly shook her head. 

“No, nothing like that. No major catastrophe, and everyone is perfectly fine. Tony just wants you at home. He said there was something you needed to discuss, but that it was nothing to worry about.” Pepper’s quick speech sounded more together than Darcy’s own worried spiel, and she took a slow breath. Okay, everyone is in one piece. That’s good. 

“Packing up early then?” It’s around two, so they’ve technically still got another three hours to go. 

“There’s nothing here that can’t wait until tomorrow,” Pepper said and quickly stood up. Nearly everything at Stark Tower is digital, so they don’t normally have to deal with actual paperwork. It makes things easier. 

“Then let’s go see what the mad genius has done this time.” Pepper actually laughed at that, and Darcy smiled at her accomplishment. Pepper’s cool and all, but she doesn’t really laugh out loud very often. 

Fifteen minutes later, they were walking into the mansion. Darcy headed straight for the elevator, but she paused when she realized that Pepper was going towards the kitchen. Pepper waved her off and said they’d talk later, that Tony wanted to see her in his lab, and Darcy continued walking. She tapped her foot as she waited for the elevator to make it to the top floor, not counting the roof, and she was in such a hurry that she didn’t pay any attention as she walked off the elevator. She yelped, quietly, as her face bounced off of what felt like a brick wall. Hands gripped her upper arms, and she looked up into dark brown eyes. 

“Oh, hey, Logan. I didn’t see you there.” Her nose was still stinging a bit from running into Logan’s back, and her grandfather is literally built like steel. 

“You okay?” They’re still feeling out this familial thing, trying to adjust, but she felt a little warm at the sound of his concerned voice. 

“Yeah, I’m good. What are you doing up here?” Logan doesn’t really go above the third floor, which she gets because he has no reason to, so she wasn’t expecting to see him up here. 

“Got a call from Jo. Said to meet her up here.” Jo called Logan, and Tony called her. The last time they were all called together, it was for a really big life-changing announcement. She really hopes this isn’t like that. 

“There you two are! Why are you just standin’ out in the hallway?” Jo asked as she walked out of Tony’s lab. Darcy darted forward without another thought and practically jumped on Jo, and the woman laughed as she wrapped strong arms around Darcy’s back. She was only gone for a day, but Darcy missed the sound of Jo’s loud laughter. “I missed you too, kid.”

“What’s happened this time, Jo?” Logan asked from behind her. Darcy reluctantly pulled back, because Jo is really cuddly, and she stopped once she was between the two older mutants. 

“We’ll talk in here,” Jo said and nodded her head back towards Tony’s lab. Darcy’s worry about this being a life-changing conversation was back, but there’s no point in running away now.

**.xXx.**

The room was silent when a quiet _tap-tap-tap_ filtered in, and Loki looked away from the swirling patterns on the ceiling and over at the window. The window was large, the size of a door, and opened out onto a balcony. He could see a person’s shape sitting on the balcony railing, but the sunlight blocked out the person’s features so that all he could see was a silhouette. Thor stood up from the chair he was in and opened the window, and Loki could see Thor’s face shifting in a smile. (He knows, from Jo’s memories, that Thor is no longer with Jane Foster. He doesn’t know the specifics, because Jo doesn’t know the specifics.)

“Doreen! You are welcome to enter using the front door,” Thor said as he stepped back. The form slipped off the railing and stepped into the room, and Loki recognizes her now. It’s the woman from the rooftop; the one who removed the muzzle. 

“Eh, I was already outside so it just seemed easier to do it this way. Everything good?” Her eyes flicked over at him before settling on Thor again, and Loki sat back in his chair. 

“The mental link was successful, and Loki’s mind is his own once again,” Thor reported. The woman smiled and then ducked around Thor to approach him, which was something that he was not expecting. She stopped right in front of him, and she’s a small little thing. Not very tall and few curves, with plain brown hair and brown eyes. 

“I’m not too sure how the others are going to handle you being here, but I’m glad you’re here. Name’s Doreen Green.” She held a hand out, and Loki narrowed his eyes at the dirt under her fingernails. “It’s just a hand. It ain’t gonna bite ya.”

“Loki Laufeyson.” The name feels wrong on his tongue, but it is his true name. He needs to learn how to say it easily. Her grip was strong, despite her hand being much smaller, and she smiled again as she pulled away. 

“So, there’s some kind of powwow going down in Tony’s lab. No telling what it’s about or how long it’ll last, but I imagine there’ll be some kind of team meeting when they get done. About you, obviously. Think you’re ready for it?” She has her arms crossed and is still smiling, and Thor moved to stand beside her. The small woman looked nearly childlike next to Thor’s height and bulk. 

“I am fully prepared to be thrown out in the street, or to have my life threatened. Possibly a combination of the two,” he answered honestly. Just because he’s the God of Lies doesn’t mean he can’t tell the truth sometimes. 

“You’re not gonna get anywhere in life with that attitude.” She’s a plucky little thing. He wanted to retort, but the woman visibly froze with her eyes tightly closed. “Whoa, talk about weirdness. Jo is calling for all of us to meet in the den. You two didn’t hear her? Oh, wait, she’s saying that you’ll come later. Don’t worry, Loki. I got your back.”

“Thank you for your support, Doreen.” Thor had one hand placed on the woman’s shoulder, and she reached up to lightly pat his forearm. 

“No problem, big guy. We’re a team, right?” She winked at Loki, actually winked at him, and then made her exit through the front door instead of the window. Thor was smiling when he sat back down in the chair next to him, and Loki felt one of his brows raising in curiosity as he looked next to him. 

“Does she drop by like that often?” Perhaps Thor has already moved on from Jane Foster. 

“This was the first time, but I enjoy her company.” Thor’s tone sounds friendly, not nearly as smitten as when he talked of Jane, so the woman might just be a friend. He crossed his arms as he closed his eyes, and he could feel Thor’s gaze on him. 

“Why are you staring at me?” He asked it without actually opening his eyes, and he listened to the familiar sound of one of Thor’s deep sighs. 

“After we thought Mother was taken from us, I said things that I now regret.” Loki tensed but didn’t move, and he ran his tongue along the back of his teeth as he thought of how to answer. Honesty won. 

“You said your true thoughts. You have no reason to regret them.” He said things that he, somewhat, regretted as well. Talked of being a ruler like a madman, because Thanos wouldn’t allow him to say anything else. He wasn’t able to speak the truth then, so he played along with the lie. 

“I told you that I didn’t trust you!” Loki opened his eyes at the raised sound of Thor’s voice but didn’t move in any other way. 

“Only a fool would have trusted me. Your words and actions were reasonable.”

“Brother, I—”

“Am I?” Thor looked confused as he was cut off, and Loki turned to look at him head-on. The two of them have always had their differences, ever since childhood, but he loved Thor once. Looked up to him even as he worried about his stubborn hardheaded brother. After everything that’s happened, even before the battle that occurred in this city, Thor should see him differently. Shouldn’t see him as a brother. 

“We were raised as brothers, and we will always be so. Do you believe differently?” They can’t go back to who they were, before he knew who he really was. Perhaps, in time, they can be something close to that. 

“I suppose not, brother.”

**.xXx.**

“Skye can’t heal like Darcy?” Maria asked. It’s strange to be the only one standing in the den while everyone else sits and looks up at him, and it’s not an experience that Bruce enjoys. Tony and Jo asked him to do this though, for Skye.

“No. Skye’s mutant genetics are something completely different.” He can hear a quiet echo inside of his mind, because Jo is repeating his words for Thor and Loki. Her and Tony are standing outside of the lab, because they wanted to give Skye some privacy with Darcy and Logan. 

“Why hasn’t she shown any other evidence? Some mutant characteristics are visible at birth and some show up later in life, but never this late,” Doreen said and flicked her eyes around the room. She’s the only other mutant in the room, but Bruce has done enough research to know that she’s right. 

“We think it has something to do with her father’s unstable genes. It’s why Darcy’s abilities didn’t manifest normally either.”

“Will she be okay?” Bruce looked away from Doreen’s eyes and over at Steve, and he quickly nodded his head. 

“She’s perfectly fine. Just…adjusting,” Bruce repeated. Jo was giving him an update, and it looks like they’re headed down this way. All of them.

**.xXx.**

“I know what I did was stupid, but I’m not sorry that I did it. I needed to know what I was capable of, and now I know,” Skye said without looking at Darcy or Logan. Jo and Tony were just in here, but they left after Tony explained his current theory. It wasn’t easy seeing herself on video with a gun pointed at her face, but it’s good that they know now.

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” Darcy said and reached out to grab her hand. 

“Me too,” Logan added and lightly grabbed her right shoulder. They’re sitting on either side of her, so Skye leaned back so that she could see both of them. 

“You’re not…You’re not upset or anything, right? Because I’m not like you?” Her grandfather was super strong and could heal, and her twin sister was super strong and could heal. She’s got a feeling that her biological father is in the same category too, but she’s something completely different. 

“Why would we be upset?” Darcy asked. She looked from Skye to Logan, and Logan looked down right into Skye’s eyes. 

“Listen up because I’m only going to say this once. It doesn’t matter what kind of mutation you have or if you’re one hundred percent human. You’re still my granddaughter, and I’m going to love you because you’re you. Not because of your genes.” Skye leapt forward and wrapped her arms around Logan’s middle, and she felt his hands lightly resting on her shoulders as she hugged him. 

“That was incredibly cliché and sappy, but thank you,” Skye whispered before pulling away. Once she was sitting straight up again, Darcy ducked down to wrap her arms around Skye’s waist. She was careful not to touch her left arm, and Skye twisted around so that she could move her arms up around Darcy’s shoulders. 

“We’re all in this together,” Darcy whispered. Her sister started humming quietly under her breath, a song that Skye was reluctant to admit that she even knew, and she heard Logan groan. 

“I hate that damned song.” Skye started cracking up a second before Darcy did, and they were soon holding onto each other to stay upright. 

“Hey, JARVIS, I want a picture of this beautiful family moment.” Jo’s voice was a rough drawl, and Skye wiped at her eyes as she straightened up. Tony and Jo were standing just inside of the lab now, and their sides were completely pressed together. His arm was slung around her shoulders, her arm was around his back and holding onto his shirt just above his hip, and they moved like they were one person. It was a little eerie and kind of cool. 

“It has been saved to your personal account, Miss Jo.” The woman smiled, crookedly, and knocked her temple against Tony’s shoulder. 

“Alright, it’s time to go talk about the Loki situation. Think we can keep it short? I feel bad about confining Illyana to the arcade,” Jo said to Tony. Loki, Thor’s brother…bad guy but not really. Maybe. And Illyana is the mutant girl that Jo and Tony are helping out. So much goes on in this house. 

“She’s moved to the theater actually. She’ll be fine,” Tony said. He met Skye’s eyes and smiled, and Skye realized that she was still wearing his jacket. Tony must have noticed it too, because he raised a questioning brow at her.

“What? It’s comfy,” she said and shrugged with just her right shoulder. Her left arm still feels a little numb, but some of the sensation is starting to come back. 

“Just what I need. Another woman in my life stealing all of my clothes.” It would have sounded offensive if he wasn’t smiling, and Logan glared at Tony even as he helped Skye get to her feet. 

“I’ve seen your closet, Tony. You can spare a few articles,” Darcy said and linked her arm through Skye’s. 

“She’s not wrong, boss. You’ve got more clothes than some department stores,” Jo said as she and Tony led the way to the elevator. 

“I need that many because all of my clothes keep going missing.” It’s nice to hear their banter. It’s…normal. It’s her new normal anyway. 

“I think you’re being dramatic,” Jo said as the elevator started going down. 

“You’re wearing one of my shirts right now. That shirt costs as much as one of your paychecks.” Jo pinched some of the fabric between her fingers and looked down. The dark red button-up does look good on her, and she flicked her finger against one of the dark gold buttons. 

“I guess it’s a good thing I got that ketchup stain out then.” Tony gasped, as loudly and dramatically as possible, as they stepped off of the elevator. Jo was still laughing when they walked into the den, where everyone else was, and she went straight to Bruce’s side. Tony said something to the other scientist before moving over to where Pepper was sitting, and Skye let Darcy pull her over to a loveseat. Logan sat on the arm next to her, and it felt good to be flanked by her family. A little weird since she’s not used to having a family, but good. 

“Attention, everyone!” Time for another meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember way back at the ending of Chapter 34, when I promised you that not everything was as it seems? This is what I was talking about. Skye’s mutation is nothing like Darcy’s, so she doesn’t have any super strength or healing. She was just led to believe that. If there’s any questions about anything, I’m happy to answer them!
> 
> I’m tired, so I can’t remember if there’s anything else I wanted to address. (And I’m sorry for any typos. If you point them out, I’ll fix them.)


	43. Everything Was Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _and now people talk to me_
> 
> _i’m slipping out of reach now_
> 
> _people talk to me_
> 
> _and all their faces blur_
> 
> **Yellow Flicker Beat by Lorde**

“Quiet!” Jo nearly flinched at the sound of her own loud yell, but it had to be done. For the past five minutes, they’ve done nothing but yell over each other. Jo’s the only one standing in the middle of the room, and she’d only been able to pick out a few of the yelled words. It was mostly just Loki’s name mixed in with some curses. 

“You really want us to forgive him? Just like that?” At her blank stare, Clint huffed and crossed his arms. “No offense, Josie, but you weren’t there. You didn’t see what he put us through. Put me through.”

“No offense, Clinton, but you didn’t see what he went through. I know it’s hard to accept, but he did the best he could under the circumstances!” She can feel all of those old memories slithering around in the back of her brain; flashes of the fight that took place less than twenty minutes away from where she’s standing, and snapshots of Loki’s torture as he willed himself to wait long enough for his plan to succeed. 

“He opened a portal into space!”

“It turned out alright!” 

“Barely!”

“We’re never going to make progress like this.” Jo and Clint both turned their heads at the same time to stare at Steve, who had no problem meeting their angry stares. 

“He’s right, you know. Squabbling like children will get you nowhere.” Jo felt her body tensing as she turned to look in the entryway, where Loki was standing with Thor just behind him. 

“I asked you to wait upstairs until we were ready for you,” she bit out. She’s down here defending him, so the least he could do is follow a simple request. 

“I grew tired of waiting. Show them what you have seen. If they still want me gone afterwards, I will leave.” Thor looked like he wanted to protest but kept quiet, and Jo felt her brows drawing together. Show them? That?

“It doesn’t seem right. What happened to you is private. You don’t have to—”

“They will never believe it otherwise, and some of them may feel better if they see me…what’s the expression? Taken down a peg or two?” Loki’s smiling, but she feels like she’s going to be sick. 

“You’re not some kind of sideshow, and we’re not going to treat you like one,” Doreen said quickly. Well, at least there’s one other person on her side. Jo turned her eyes on Tony, and he shifted a little under her gaze. 

_“Don’t look at me like that, sweetheart. I still have nightmares about space. You know that,”_ Tony said just for her to hear. 

_“Why can’t all of you just believe me?”_

_“You know why.”_ Jo sighed as she pulled away from Tony’s mind, because he’s right. He’s right, and she hates that he’s right. The Avengers were formed to take down Loki, and it left a lasting impression. Not a good one. 

“Are you sure, Loki?” She met the god’s green eyes, and the color looked almost feverish in his pale face. 

“I wouldn’t have suggested it if I wasn’t sure.” She nodded and squared her shoulders, and she realized that she was tensing up like she would to prepare for a fight. “And, Jo? Don’t hold back.”

“I won’t.”

Once her eyes closed, she reached out to all of the doors locked up inside of her mind. It took a minute, but she eventually got them all to open. She couldn’t hear anyone’s thoughts, but she knew that they’d be able to see what she did. Then she reached out to Logan, who was nice enough to lower his own mental defenses for her. Getting everyone connected didn’t take long at all, she thought it would be harder, and she locked her teeth together as she focused on Loki’s memories. Not the ones from long ago. Nothing from his childhood. She only showed brief glimpses of his realization of his species, skimmed his short rule of Asgard, and then paused at his time with Thanos. 

_Kneeling on broken kneecaps. Laughter. Always laughing as they break his body, because he is more than just bones and flesh. Bones that are broken, shattered, removed. Everything heals, in time. Flesh is ripped away, burned, laid to waste to show who he is inside. It will take more than this to truly break him._

_The scepter has power; the power to break him. The power to break his mind. He knows what Thanos wants, knows where it is and how to get it, but he can’t let Thanos have it. Thor will find a way to Midgard, and Thor will protect the clueless planet. He has to be strong, just long enough for Thor to find passage._

_He knows his failures. Has seen them again and again. Greed and pride twisted him into something ugly, into something that he despised. He is not that monster._

_The scepter is able to twist his mind. Makes him see things that are not real. (Sees them all lying dead, broken bodies and blood on his hands. Is this his future?) They take him apart and put him back together, but it’s the destruction in his mind that keeps him weak. More so than the destruction of his psychical body. (He flinches at every sound, constantly ready for the next attack.)_

_Once the scepter was in his hand, he saw the end. Saw a grouping of people in front of him; a sharp point was right in his face, and his battered face smiled. He knows he was the only one to see it, because Thanos allowed him to leave. Allowed him to travel to Midgard._

_The first time he saw Clint Barton was in his flash of the future; the man holding the arrow pointed at his face. The second time he saw Clint Barton was moments after he arrived on Midgard, and he knew what path to take. He needed Clint Barton._

_He has to be careful about who he kills. He cannot spare them all; it would look suspicious, and Thanos would end him. Death would be a mercy, but Thanos will not stop with him. Loki must see this through. He’s careful to only kill the snakes. The ones that lie in wait. The traitors._

_His body is not his own. Every gesture is made from within chains; every word a mix of lies and truth. They look at him with such hate that they can’t see the truth. Can’t see that he is just as much a pawn as they are._

_When it is over and he is confined to his cell, Thanos rages. Laughter, even as the mad titan attempts to break him again. Feels his blood boiling as his body fights to get free, but he keeps that image hidden. He can’t let the others know how weak he is; they can’t see how far he has fallen. After a time, he becomes still. Loki is confined, and Thanos can’t use him. Not anymore. Never again._

Jo slammed all the doors shut and pulled away from Logan, and she bent over with her hands pressed tight against her knees. She could taste blood at the back of her throat and something that tasted like dirt but somehow different, and she could hear her own rough breathing over the sound of her heartbeat pounding away in her ears. None of that was pleasant, and she feels like puking and then sleeping for a week. Once she was sure that her lunch was going to stay down, she pushed herself up straight and slowly looked around the room. 

“I don’t forgive his actions. He’s done more than his share of wrong, but he was desperate. He did the only thing that he believed he could. He hurt you, and I know he did. I’ve seen it. Felt it. So I’m not asking you to make friendship bracelets with the guy. All I’m asking is for you to try and be a little understanding. If anyone needs me, I will be in the theater with Illyana. Alone.” Her eyes flicked between Bruce and Tony as she said the last word, and the two scientists quickly nodded to let her know they understood. Good. 

“Thank you, Jo,” Thor said quietly as she approached. She didn’t meet his eyes or Loki’s, but she did nod as she quickly moved around them. She needs a break, and she feels like she’s earned it.

**.xXx.**

“Okay, everyone, take five. Hours. Whatever. Avengers disassemble!” The room slowly started to empty after Tony’s loud yell, and Tony held still as Pepper pressed a kiss against the top of his head.

“I have some work I need to catch up on. I’ll be in our room if you need me,” she said quietly. Tony didn’t look up until the sound of her heels faded and then he looked over at the seat next to him, where Bruce was still sitting. 

“That was…” Bruce started. 

“Yeah,” Tony finished. He’s not going to feel sorry for Loki, but he can admit that Jo made a good point. None of them are perfect, right? They’ve all done horrible things, but Loki isn’t the one he’s concerned about right now. “Is she okay? She didn’t look okay.”

“I’m sure she’ll tell you later.” Bruce winced even as he said it, and Tony narrowed his eyes. That sentence is all kinds of foreboding. “It’s not my place, Tony.”

“It’s only been a few weeks and you’re already whipped.” He said it lightly, to let Bruce know that he was joking, and his fellow scientist just smiled. 

“Worse things have happened to me.” Tony reached up to grab Bruce’s shoulder, just a moment of simple human contact, and then stood up. 

“Okay, so Loki’s here to stay. Jo also brought home another mutant, which means we’re running low on rooms. Who would have thought this place would get too small?” His mind was already thinking of ways to improve; they’ll need something bigger so that they can move freely, because sometimes they need their own space. 

“I don’t think I like that look,” Bruce said slowly. 

“Now is not the time to lose your sense of adventure, Banner. To science!” He’s not going to stop worrying about everything, but he can distract himself for just a little while.

**.xXx.**

“Your eyes are literally sparkly. Is that a god thing?” Darcy leaned from side to side and watched as Loki’s eyes tracked her movement, and she could hear Skye giggling on the floor in front of her. They’re on the fourth floor now, where Thor and Steve’s rooms are, but they’re sitting out in the common area. Darcy and Thor are sitting on a couch, Skye is sitting on the floor with her back against Darcy’s shins, and Loki is sitting in a chair across from them.

“How many gods have you met?” Loki sounds nice enough, but his lips do this mischievous little tilt thing every time he smiles. She realizes that doesn’t really make sense, but she can’t think of any other way to describe Loki’s smile. 

“Just you and Thor. Well, I saw those others in New Mexico, but I didn’t get a good look because of all the explosions. Are you making them sparkle?” Seriously, that’s not normal. Skye snorted as she continued to laugh, and Darcy even heard Thor’s deep chuckle. 

“They’re just eyes,” Loki said with a sigh. 

“Sparkly eyes,” Darcy corrected. 

“This is why you left Asgard? To cavort with giggling girls?” Loki looked away from her and over at Thor, and she squealed as the lights bounced off of his eyes. Skye was pointing at the god’s face as she laughed now, and Darcy kept leaning forward to get a better look. 

“She is paying you a compliment, brother. The polite thing to do would be to say thank-you.” It sounded like Thor was barely holding in his laughter, and it’s good to hear Thor so happy. Darcy really loves the big god, so she’s glad that all of this is working out. Even if she is actively repressing the sight of Loki’s broken body laid out against dark gray rocks. Yep, repressing it all right now. 

“Since when do you care about proper manners?”

“It’s like little disco lights,” Skye said and tipped her head back against Darcy’s knee. Darcy met Skye’s eyes, upside down, and hummed. 

“Or sparklers.”

“Are all mortals this intolerable?”

“I’m totally tolerable!” Darcy yelled. 

“Yeah!” Skye backed up. Loki sighed again, something deep that sounded like long-suffering, and Darcy grinned. She knows everyone is having mixed feelings about all of this, but she made up her mind to stand by Thor. Thor, and Jo, both believe that Loki deserves a chance. It’s the least they can do, right?

“Don’t you two have something better to do?” Loki finally asked them. 

“I’ve done enough work for one day, and I’ve missed Thor’s pretty face.” The god next to her held still as she lightly patted his cheek, and Loki rolled his sparkly eyes. 

“I could do some more hacking, but I’ve had a really long day. I’m also starving. Who’s going to cook dinner? Please tell me it’s not Maria,” Skye said quickly. Darcy agrees with her on that one; the senior agent might be skilled at many things, but cooking isn’t one of them. 

“Normally Steve and Jo cook dinner, but I’m not so sure about tonight. JARVIS?”

“Captain Rogers and Master Logan are tending to dinner, Miss Darcy.” Okay, so the food is going to be delicious. Good to know, because she had a light lunch. Possibly no lunch. Oh Thor, she’s turning into the scientists! Thor laughed, quietly, and Darcy realized that he probably heard her. Neat. 

“A sit-down dinner with the whole team. Should prove entertaining.” Loki’s doing that mischievous smile thing again, and Darcy smiled back at him. She really hopes all of this works out.

**.xXx.**

“Dinner is about to be served, Miss Jo.” Illyana jumped a little, and Jo had to hold back her laugh.

“Yeah, JARVIS takes a little getting used to. He’s the best though,” Jo said as she slowly stood up. She’s been watching Disney movies with Illyana since the end of the team meeting, so they only watched two movies. 

“Think Mister Stark could build one for the school?” Jo paused and felt Illyana bounce off her back, and she thought it over. Tony definitely had the ability to do such a thing, but JARVIS is special. They can’t have a JARVIS in every home. The world would fall apart because everyone would forget how to do stuff, and robots would take over the world. She’s not stopping another robot rebellion. 

“We’ll brainstorm later,” she said and started walking again. Illyana was quiet as they stepped onto the elevator, but Jo could feel the girl’s eyes on the side of her face. “What, Yana?”

“I hate that name, and you’ve looked like shit for the past several hours. I know you were talking about something serious with the Professor; yours auras were all dark and troubled. Are you dying?”

“No! You can’t just ask people stuff like that!”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s rude, and because I am not dying. The house is just really tense right now. A lot of shit has gone down recently, and we’re all still trying to figure it out.” A lot of shit doesn’t even begin to cover it. Most of SHIELD was actually HYDRA, and now they only have a handful of agents running SHIELD. Half of the people in this house feel betrayed and lost, Steve is freaking out over the reappearance of his best friend, Tony is repressing stuff again, Loki has literally everyone on edge, they were wrong about Skye’s mutations and she could have been seriously injured because they just assumed that she’d be able to heal, and her brain is going to explode. 

“Then why bring me here? You could have turned me down. I’d understand.” Illyana shrugged when Jo looked over, and she felt like kicking herself after seeing the lost look on the younger girl’s face. 

“Because we could use a win right now.” When Illyana looked over, she offered the girl a small smile. It probably wasn’t convincing, but Illyana smiled back anyway. Then she screamed as Jo was pulled out of the elevator. “Dammit, Clinton!”

“No yelling. Just twirling.” The elevator had opened up on the first floor, and Clint was spinning her around the foyer now. Her first instinct was to take a peek and see what he was thinking, but she quickly pushed the urge away. It doesn’t matter if they made a mental link, or if she can feel the archer’s mind just on the edge of her own. Clint’s got a thing against other people messing around in his brain, which is something that she understands. 

“What the hell are they doing?” she heard Illyana ask. She pointed a finger at the girl as she was spun around, because the younger mutant has a seriously bad potty mouth. Bruce and Tony were standing on either side of her, and Jo felt a little better at seeing both of them. It didn’t last long, because Clint spun her around a little more. 

“Working through their issues. Dining room is this way,” she heard Tony say from behind her. She knew when they were gone, because Clint started humming quietly next to her ear. She also knows that everyone else is in the dining room, but she can wait a few minutes before joining them. This, dancing with Clint, is important. 

“I’m sorry that I yelled at you, earlier. In the den,” Jo said after Clint pulled her up out of a dip. The fingers of her right hand are laced through his, and she can feel his hand pressing tight against the small of her back. She can feel how tense he is from the grip she has on his shoulder, but it’s slowly starting to slip away. 

“I’m sorry that I yelled at you too. I do not envy your position.” Jo pulled back just enough to meet his eyes, and it seemed like they both breathed a little easier afterwards. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” The hand on her back moved and raised up, but they continued to move as he pressed two fingers against her temple. 

“You can see all the angles. We have pieces, but you have everything. What’d you do to yourself, Josie?” Clint’s known her for a decade; they’ve been dancing through conversations for years, and Clint can always read her when they’re moving together. 

“I think I really screwed up this time, Clint.” _Clint_ , not Clinton. No more joking around. He pulled her so close that she had to balance her toes on top of his booted feet, and she dropped her head onto his shoulder to hide her tears. 

“Are you gonna be okay?” She’s got thirteen different lives crammed into her brain, and she keeps getting triggered at the weirdest moments. The memories aren’t hers, but they feel so real. Like when she was watching _The Lion King_ and nearly started crying as she remembered not being allowed to watch it with the older children. Only, it wasn’t her memory. It was Darcy’s. 

“I honestly don’t know.” Clint’s arms tightened to a point just shy of pain, and she held on just as tight. 

“We’ll take care of you. You know that, right? You took care of us, and we’ll return the favor. It’s gonna be okay, Josie.” She felt like she was choking, like she couldn’t pull in a full breath, so she kept her reply silent.

_“It’s really not.”_

**.xXx.**

Dinner was subdued. Bruce has never enjoyed loud noises or yelling, but he actually missed the usual clatter of noise that usually echoed in the dining room. Everyone is looking down at their food and eating quietly; the only sound came from silverware against the plates or someone asking for something to be passed, and the tension is clear. Jo’s sitting next to him, between him and Tony, and she hasn’t even tried to sneak any food off of their plates. Darcy and Skye exchanged glances every once in a while, but they never said anything.

“Enough!” Jo’s palms slapped against the table as she got to her feet, and everyone at the table visibly jumped before turning to look at her. “The world out there may be a little topsy turvy right now, and maybe we’re all on edge! But that does not mean that we have changed! So someone better start talking, or I’m going to start throwing mashed potatoes around!”

The room seemed to hold its breath as a glob of mashed potatoes hit right in the center of Jo’s forehead, and she reached up to wipe it away as she glared down the table at Illyana. The youngest person at the table still had her spoon raised, but there was an innocent smile trained on her face. Jo reached forward, into the nearly full bowl of mashed potatoes, and flung a handful in Illyana’s direction. The mutant got hit the most, but Maria got hit as well. Maria stood up with a quiet cry and hurled a bowl of gravy at Jo, and the rest of the table got splattered before the bowl hit the center of Jo’s stomach. 

After that, everything was chaos.

**.xXx.**

“Best food fight ever!” Darcy yelled and collapsed back onto the table. The move was only possible because all of the dishes are scattered throughout the room. Clint raised his fist, because he’s lying on the table but facing the opposite direction, and Darcy tapped it with her own pea covered fist. She could hear Jo and Tony giggling, actually giggling, from somewhere directly below her. When she turned her head to the left, she could see Skye sitting propped up against Logan. The older mutant was sitting with his back against the wall and carefully picking pieces of carrots out of Skye’s hair.

“I worked really hard on that pot roast.” Steve’s voice sounded like a mixture between amusement and exasperation, and Darcy heard Maria snort quietly from close by. There was a smacking sound, followed by a hum, but Darcy can’t tell from who. 

“Tastes pretty good,” Sam said. 

“Little dry,” Natasha countered. 

“I thought it was just right, Steve,” Pepper defended. 

“I think someone put too much salt in the mashed potatoes,” Tony called out. 

“Burns a bit,” Jo agreed. 

“No one likes bland mashed potatoes,” Bruce said quietly. 

"Here, here!" Doreen backed up.

“You’re all madmen.” That’s Loki, but he participated just as much as the rest of them. 

“Then you should fit in nicely.” Thor’s statement was followed by a quiet _fwump_ , so she’s assuming that Thor just slapped some part of his brother in revelry. 

“Food fights are a normal American past time.” Darcy laughed and then ignored the way that Clint narrowed his eyes at her. 

“You guys didn’t do so bad for your first time.” This time it was Jo’s turn to laugh at Illyana’s quiet musing, and Darcy could hear some protests starting up. 

“Alright, time for cleanup.” She could hear Steve shuffling around, probably attempting to stand up, and she groaned quietly. Cleaning all of this up is going to take forever, but it was worth it.

**.xXx.**

_“Are you sure?”_ Jo caught the question as she was leaving the room with dishes stacked in her arms, surprisingly unbroken, and she knew that Bruce was still in the dining room behind her. It was easy to hear him, and it sounds like her own mental voice is still getting stronger. That’s good.

 _“Only if you’re comfortable with it.”_ Bruce is, without a doubt, the nicest guy she’s ever been with. She hasn’t really dated anyone other than Johnny, but the point remains. 

_“If it had been up to me, we would have been sharing a room after our first night together. If you’re sure about this, then I am definitely on board.”_ The mansion is a little full at the moment, which is a weird thought to have…how can a _mansion_ be full?

“You okay?” She jumped a little at the rough voice and blinked a few times to clear her vision before smiling up at Logan. 

“Yeah, I’m peachy. Just listenin’ in to hear the new room assignments,” she said and managed to hold the dirty dishes with one arm so she could tap her temple. Logan’s eyes narrowed, but she smiled and stepped around him to set down her load of dishes. Dish water has already been run, and she started scrubbing while Logan waited next to her to rinse. 

“Do I need to move?” Logan asked after a moment of silence. Bruce is letting her hear everything, and it sounds like it’s going well. 

“I think they’ve just about got it. Bruce is going to move in with me, so Darcy and Skye are going to take his old room. Steve is going to move into Darcy’s old room, Illyana is going to take Skye’s room for now, so it’ll just be Thor and Loki on the fourth floor. Yeah, that should work.” Sam is talking to Darcy, Skye, Thor, and Loki now. He’s explaining about the new counseling schedule, which isn’t mandatory but recommended, and…Natasha and Clint haven’t agreed to it yet. She gets that, their lives depend on them being secretive, but this could be really good for them. 

“Place is gettin’ crowded,” Logan huffed. He’s never liked feeling cramped, not even at the school. 

“Illyana is only staying until we find her mentor. You know anything about that?” she asked as she passed over a plate. 

“Know she went missing. Her mentor’s human. Peter tried to prepare her for the worst, but she’s a stubborn thing.”

“Did you tutor her or something?” Logan glared at her, but Logan’s glares are like a big hug. She nudged her shoulder against him and then continued to wash the dishes, as she listened in. Skye’s first session is tomorrow, after lunch. Then Darcy’s session is after dinner. Thor and Loki are agreeing to the sessions as well.

“I know you’re not okay.” She froze for just a moment, seconds, before picking her pace back up. 

“Don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”

“I’m talking about the bags under your eyes, how pale you are, the way your whole body is slumping over.” She made a point of squaring her shoulders, and Logan grunted. “You look like shit, kid. If you need to get out of here for a while, there’s no shame in that.”

“I’m not gonna—”

“Just grab your doctor and go. Take him to your hideaway in Rio. Live like a normal woman for once.” Whatever anger had been building fell away at the sound of Logan’s worried tone, and she reached over to grab his hand with her own soapy one. 

“That sounds like an amazing idea, but the timing isn’t right. Maybe, once things have calmed down, I’ll bring the idea up to Bruce. I can’t leave them now.” She just went through all the trouble of protecting them, possibly at the cost of her own future sanity, so she’s not about to bail now. They’ve still got a little ways to go. 

“I’ll look after them. Make sure no one decides to go after the emo alien, help with Hydra, keep an eye on Rogers, stop Stark from blowin’ himself up…It’s not all on you.” Her shoulders are feeling a little overburdened, but it’s a good feeling. These people actually need her. For the first time, she’s _needed_. Not just wanted for her destructive power. 

“I’ll go on vacation when I’m good and ready.” Logan looked like he wanted to argue but decided against it, and Jo gave herself a mental pat on the back. She’s sure Logan will try to talk her into taking a break again soon, but she’s in the clear for now. “And where did you even learn the word emo?”

**.xXx.**

“You don’t have to do this.” Jo hummed in the back of her throat but didn’t slow her movements, and Tony sighed as he slumped back against her.

“I like doing this. It’s good to know that even when everything’s gone to shit, I still have this. Still have you.” Her fingers lightly pushed against his scalp as she worked the conditioner in, and he walked his fingers across the top of her foot. 

“Jo. You just told me that we’re going to cause you to go insane.” She pushed him to sit forward so that she could rinse his hair, and he numbly moved where she put him. They have an honesty policy, so she told him about the Professor’s warning. He knows that Jo’s been looking a little tired lately, but he thought she’d heal. She always heals. 

Once his hair was clean, she pulled him back into the cradle of her body. Her thighs were warm against the top of his ribs, and her strong arms gently wound across his shoulders. He could see her hands pressed over the arc reactor, hiding the light, as her cheek pressed against the top of his head. She’s completely surrounding him, and he could fool himself into believing that this is just like every other time that she’s washed his hair. He could, but he can’t get her rough words out of his head. He’s always been good at running the numbers, but he didn’t this time. Jo has thirteen sets of memories, thirteen sets of lives, in her head. If anything happens to just one of them, she might not recover. 

“I never paid much attention in school, but I always paid attention to the lessons on limits. My father died because he was pushed past his limit, so I knew there was a chance that the same thing could happen to me. I have made it a point to always know my limit, physically and mentally. I knew what I was doing was dangerous, but I wouldn’t take any of it back. You hear me? I made my choice, boss. I’m going to keep all of you safe.” Her arms tightened around him the longer she spoke, and he was tightly gripping her forearms now. Like he could keep her with him forever if he hung on hard enough. 

“We’re eventually going to die. We’re going to die, and it’s going to kill you.” 

“No one lives forever, Tony.”

“Tony, are you—Oh, sorry, I thought you were out. Is everything okay?” Tony managed to twist around enough to see past Jo to the doorway, where Pepper was standing. She’s still wearing the skirt and blouse she went to work in, but her feet are bare and her hair is down. 

“The Professor is worried about how many mental links I created. He’s worried that I made myself vulnerable, but he’s wrong. I’m going to be just fine.” Pepper looked away from Jo and met his eyes, and Tony forced himself to smile. It felt fake, and it must have looked fake because Pepper didn’t smile back. At least he tried. 

“When one of us kicks it, her brain is going to turn to mush,” he clarified. Jo smacked the back of his head, but he’s not taking it back. 

“My brain is going to do no such thing. Now get out.”

“I’m going to go change for bed.” Pepper closed the door behind her, and Tony glared up at his bodyguard. 

“Why’d you tell her?” He doesn’t want to keep anything from Pepper, but he doesn’t want to worry her either. Especially since Pepper’s been so understanding about Jo. 

“Honesty policy. She deserves to know. They all do, actually, but I don’t think I’m ready for that yet,” Jo said as she helped get him dry. He recognizes that this is a weird thing for two adults who are not together to do, but he’s past caring. Has been for a while now. 

“You really think that you’re fine?” She looks normal, for the most part. She took a quick shower between the food fight and scrubbing him clean, so her long hair is balled up on top of her head. She tugged on one of his black ACDC tees and a pair of green flannel pants that looked like Bruce’s, so her usual mixed set of pajamas, but she looks a little off too. She moves slower, a little more carefully, and her eyes look darker and huge in her too-pale face. 

“Yes. I just need a few days to adjust, that’s all,” she shrugged. _Shrugged_. The decision she made to keep them safe from mental attacks is probably going to end up with her braindead, but she’s just shrugging it off. Like it’s nothing. 

“How can you be so calm about all of this?” He’s wearing actual pajama pants for once, red cotton, but that’s all. So he could feel Jo’s heat from her palms against his bare shoulders as she shook him a little. 

“You really think I’m just going to sit back and let all of you die? C’mon, boss, you know better than that. I didn’t keep all of you safe just for you to die, so stop worrying.” Her smile was crooked, it showed the dimple in her left cheek, and she moved one hand to the back of his hair so that she could push his forehead against hers. 

“You’re not allowed to die. Not ever, sweetheart.” He knows it’s not practical. Everyone dies. Even tanks die. 

“Right back atcha.”

**.xXx.**

Jo shifted against her sheets, reached down to brush off the stubborn crumb on the bottom of her foot, and then flopped over onto her stomach. A warm hand gently gripped the back of her neck, which was exposed since her hair was put up, and she melted a little from the gentle massage. Leaving Tony’s room had been hard. She knows that he’s in good hands, but he’d looked so worried. Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything. No, she did the right thing. Tony needed to know the truth, just in case. She’s hoping that nothing happens to anyone, but she’s also a realist. They’re _superheroes_ , for crying out loud! There’s a good chance that one of them is going to get hurt and not make it, but she’ll deal with that when the time comes. Worrying about it is not going to do her, or anyone else, any favors.

“Are you okay?” Bruce’s voice was quiet in the, mostly, dark room. The only light is coming from the tablet that he’s working on, but she can tell that it’s on the bedside table now. 

“I’m just tired. I feel like I could sleep for a week.” Her muscles are tired in a way that she’s not really used to, and her head feels…tight. Bruce’s thumb touched against her cheek, and she twisted around to lightly kiss the pad of his finger. 

“Then why are you awake?” She sighed, from her diaphragm, and squeezed her eyes shut. 

“What if I have another one of those nightmares? About them? I won’t convince Tony that I’m perfectly fine if I’m having the nightmares meant for everyone else in this house.” She can hear the frustration in her own voice, because she doesn’t like feeling like a failure. 

“Everyone has nightmares.” The bed rocked a little as Bruce laid down, and Jo wiggled over until her cheek was pressed against his chest. She could hear the steady beat of his heart, and her fingers absently tapped it out against his ribs. 

“But they’re not my nightmares. I can barely handle my own. How am I supposed to handle theirs?” Bruce was a warm and solid weight against her, and she had to bite down on a yawn. Falling asleep right now would be so easy, but she can’t stop worrying about what might happen when she finally does go unconscious. 

“You don’t have to handle it alone.” The light from the tablet is gone now, so she can’t see Bruce’s eyes or any other part of him really. He sounds sincere, and that’s the kicker. 

“I can’t just put all of my shit on you, Bruce. I know we’re partners in this and everything, but it feels a little unfair.” When he shifted, Jo ran the statement over in her head and groaned. “A little unfair to you. You deserve someone who’s…who’s…”

“Problem free?”

“Yes! That, exactly.” Arms wrapped around her upper body and held on tight, and she clung back just as hard. She might think the situation is unfair to Bruce, but that doesn’t mean she’s planning on letting him go. 

“No one is problem-free, unless they’re lying to themselves. I’m not going to run just because things are a little messy. Never again.”

"I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I’m damn glad I did it.” Bruce’s quiet laugh in the dark room helped her relax; it was a sound that was slowly becoming home, which should have been a truly frightening thought considering they’ve been together for less than a month, but she held onto the good feeling anyway. 

“I think you saved a narcissistic billionaire from himself.” A small part of her misses the old days, but it’s just a small part because Bruce was just on the phone back then. (They didn’t even have Darcy, or the others.)

“Oh, is that all?”

“I think that was the start of everything.” He’s not exactly wrong, so she’s not going to argue with him. What she is going to do is snuggle in as close as possible and try to get some sleep. Hopefully she won’t have any nightmares. Thor, save her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m still iffy about this chapter. I’m still learning how to write for Loki; if anyone thinks that I’m messing up his characterization, please let me know! As for the food fight, I threw that in there because this chapter was getting too angsty. I need fluff and balance. 
> 
> I realize that this story is crowded and probably seems disorganized, but there is a method to my madness! There’s a very big plot brewing, and all of the characters being mentioned will be important. So, enjoy all of the random fluff while you can! Also, there will be some time skips coming up. Mostly good ones though. Promise. 
> 
> If there’s anything that anyone wants to see, I’m happy to take requests! Do you want to see Logan grumpily following behind Darcy and Skye at the mall? Do you want Nat and Maria to be out with the group and scare the ever living daylights out of someone trying to hit on them? Do you want Doreen and Loki reading in a tree together? Do you want Clint to fall out of an air vent during a very serious conversation between [insert whoever you want here]? Do you want Bruce to walk in on Tony waltzing with Dum-E? I’m up for writing anything!


	44. Weird Definitely Works

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _you’ve been down before_
> 
> _you’ve been hurt before_
> 
> _you got up before_
> 
> _you’ll be good to go_
> 
> **That’s My Girl by Fifth Harmony**

**September 16, 2014**

**DARCY**

“Looking good, Ma! What do you call that hairstyle?” Jo jerked to a stop in the middle of the sitting area, and Darcy grinned as the woman’s halfway open green eyes rose to meet hers. Her hand came up to pat at her wild hair, and Darcy saw her smile as she realized the state that her hair was in. It’s half up, half down, and all over the place.

“Screaming Orgasm Before Sunrise. Like it?” Bruce, who had just stepped off the elevator, froze and immediately turned red. Darcy could hear Skye cackling behind her as Jo waved to the extremely embarrassed scientist, and the two of them are just too cute. 

“Good thing I soundproofed everything!” Tony called out from his open bedroom. 

“No teasing your friends!” Pepper yelled. It was muffled, so she must be in the bathroom. Or in Tony’s ridiculous closet. 

“I’d say sorry, but I’m really not,” Jo said as Bruce reached her. The doc is already dressed for the day, so he must have gone up to his lab after…yeah, she’s gonna stop that thought now. 

“It’s always the quiet ones,” Skye whispered to her. Despite that, Jo still looked over at them with a raised eyebrow and a smile. 

“Oh, you have no idea.” That’s a smile that belongs on a shark. “Come along, Bruce. I need help braiding my sex hair before breakfast.”

“Insatiable minx!” Tony yelled.

“Still not on your level, boss!” Jo’s bedroom door closed behind her, and Darcy rolled her eyes. It’s good to see Jo so relaxed and happy though. She was starting to get worried about her weird adoptive mother, but it looks like she just needed a good night’s sleep. Well, that and some quality Doc time. 

“Food?” Tony looked awake enough, but his eyes still looked a little sleepy. At least he’s dressed. 

“You remembered that you need food to survive. It’s a Christmas miracle!” Tony’s eyes narrowed as they met Darcy’s, but she just kept on smiling. She even kept smiling when Tony hooked an arm around her neck and started pulling Darcy towards the elevator, and she could hear Pepper and Skye talking behind them. 

“Just remember, all complaints about his behavior go directly to me. Unless it’s urgent. Then you can go to Jo.” Tony pouted as Pepper and Skye joined them in the elevator, and it took everything in Darcy’s willpower not to laugh. 

“He’s been well behaved so far,” Skye said and looked over to meet her eyes. Darcy’s glad that her sister is fitting in here, and Tony seems to appreciate the help. 

“Yeah, I can be professional.” She’s pretty sure that if Tony didn’t have an arm around her shoulders, his arms would be stubbornly crossed over his chest. 

“Of course you can, honey.” Pepper ruffled his hair before stepping off the elevator into the foyer, and Skye grinned at them before following after the redhead. Tony pulled her along, and Darcy could already hear the others in the dining room. It sounds very…loud. Looks like things might be slowly getting back to normal. 

Breakfast was surprisingly normal. Things were a little tense to start with, mostly because everyone took turns sneaking glances at Loki, until the god rolled his eyes and asked for more syrup. After that, conversation seemed to pick up. Darcy tried to apologize to Thor for not helping him make breakfast, but he told her not to worry about it. Loki and Doreen helped him in her absence. (Doreen actually cooked everything except for the pancakes, and Loki just watched and commented.) Darcy almost felt bad about it, but Thor told her that she shouldn’t have to cook her own breakfast before going to work. It was really sweet of the big guy. 

“Hey, Tony, is it cool if I go for a run?” Darcy looked over at Skye but didn’t say anything, because she’d just stuffed half of a pancake into her mouth. She looked over at Tony, who stopped talking to Bruce to look over at Skye. 

“Sure. I’m lying on a couch and talking about my problems after breakfast, so we can start an hour later than usual. Good for you?” Oh, yeah. Therapy sessions start today. She’s up after dinner tonight. 

“Good for me,” Skye said and nodded a little. 

“Mind if I come with you? I haven’t been running in forever. I think working for Tony has made me lazy,” Jo said with a crooked grin. Tony huffed but didn’t argue, and Jo kept her eyes locked with Skye’s. Jo’s question sounds innocent enough, but Darcy has a feeling that Jo asked for more reasons than just wanting to exercise a little. Maybe she’s volunteering to be Skye’s bodyguard. 

“As long as you can keep up.” Skye sounded playful, and Jo’s head tipped back as she laughed. 

“Maybe Tony can build you some kind of rocket skates,” Clint said and tossed a piece of his biscuit at Jo’s face. The woman managed to actually catch the food in her mouth, which just made Clint clap politely while laughing like a loon, and Jo looked like she was actually contemplating it. 

“Whattaya think, boss? Rocket skates?”

“Maybe for Christmas.” Jo and Clint high-fived, and Natasha looked back and forth between them with an unreadable expression before whispering something in Russian. Whatever it was, it made Illyana laugh. “You! Come by the lab at ten, and we’ll start a sweep for your mentor!”

“I’ll find a way to entertain myself until then,” Illyana said back and smiled. The mutant must be good at adapting, because she doesn’t seem phased by anything. 

“Change and then run?” Skye asked. She was already done eating and starting to get up, and breakfast is almost done. Most of the food is gone. 

“Definitely not running in my pajamas,” Jo said and got to her feet as well. 

“You mean mine and Bruce’s pajamas?” Tony asked her. He has a point there. Darcy missed Jo’s comeback, because Skye lightly gripped her shoulder. She looked up and met her sister’s dark eyes, and Skye smiled down at her. 

“Have fun at work, sis.” This is still really new for the two of them, but they’ve decided to go all-in. 

“Have fun dealing with Tony.” Skye laughed at that, and Darcy could just make out the sound of Tony yelling in protest over the sounds of everything else happening in the room. She did see the assassins talking to Sam out of the corner of her eye, until Steve walked by with plates in his arms. 

“Ready to go, Darcy?” Pepper asked her. She’s dressed for the day and as ready as she’ll ever be for a work day at Stark Industries. She nodded and got to her feet, and she took a quick look around the room. Maybe things are going back to normal, or a new normal at least.

**SKYE**

“Is running one of your mutant abilities?” Skye asked as she watched Jo stretch. It’s a little weird to see the woman in her own clothes; the pajamas from breakfast have been replaced with a pair of really short hot pink shorts and a yellow tank top, and they both fit her perfectly so they have to be hers.

“Depends on how you look at it,” Jo said and straightened up. They’re standing in front of the mansion, because Jo wanted to warm up first. Skye feels warmed up enough; she just wants to run and clear her head a little. 

“Meaning?” She followed Jo to the gate and then out onto the sidewalk, and dark green eyes met hers as they stopped. 

“Technically, running is not one of my abilities. My healing, however, can keep me from getting too tired. My strength can make me go faster than the average human, while the healing means that I don’t get hurt in the process. I don’t feel like tiring myself out though, so I’m only going to run at a normal pace today. Think you can still keep up?”

She would’ve had a comeback, but Jo was already on the move. Skye yelled the mutant’s name before running after her, and Jo slowed down until she caught up but then immediately upped her pace. She’s only officially been living with all of them for about a week, and a lot has happened. Her whole life has done a complete one-eighty, but this is familiar. Running helps her mind go quiet, which is a good thing since she’s running next to a telepath. It felt good to let go of everything for a little while, and she felt almost like a completely different person when Jo slowed down in front of some kind of smoothie shop. 

“I think just one drink from this place will undo all of the running,” Skye pointed out. She’s sure that smoothies are supposed to be healthy, but she’s not so sure about this place. 

“They have one with peanut butter that’s to die for. Want anything?” She’s actually still a little full from breakfast, so she just shook her head. Jo shrugged and disappeared inside the shop, and Skye walked over to a bench. She decided against sitting down, but she did place her right foot on the seat so that she could bend over to adjust her sock. 

“Is your friend colorblind?” She yelped, a little, as she jumped and spun around. A few people walking by glanced at her but didn’t say anything, and she placed a hand over her rapidly beating heart as she looked over at an old baseball cap. 

“Where did you come from?” He’s sitting on the bench now and looking down at the ground, so she can’t see his face. So it’s just like every other time they’ve met. 

“Around,” he shrugged. 

“Are you stalking me?” His laugh was so low that she barely heard it, but she definitely got her mysterious stranger friend to laugh. 

“So, your friend. Colorblind?” The fact that he didn’t answer was obvious and should have freaked her out a little, but there’s something about this guy. She doesn’t feel unsafe around him. 

“She just likes weirdly matched bright colors. I’m not really sure why.” Jo’s fashion sense is a bit weird, but that word is starting to have a new meaning. She’s lying about the second part too, but she can’t really explain that she knows Jo loves bright colors because bland colors remind her of ROSE. (Everything had been white, a blinding white. Sometimes the clothes they put her in were gray, but that was it.)

“Is she nice?” Skye snorted as she crossed her arms, and she really thought it over. Jo’s a good person. She takes care of everyone, but she’s also a little rough around the edges. They call her the Tank. Her foot lightly nudged the stranger’s leg, but he still didn’t look up at her. 

“Why? You looking out for me?” His gloved fingers flexed against his knees as his jaw clenched, and Skye waited patiently for him to answer her. 

“Something like that,” he said after a moment. They met on a bench and have had a few random conversations, so he doesn’t have any reason to look out for her. He doesn’t know her. Skye glanced over her shoulder to see if Jo was out of the shop yet, and the guy was gone when she turned back around. Like he just disappeared. 

“Skye? You okay? You look like you just saw a ghost.” Jo was standing next to her now, holding two smoothies, and she’s looking for a guy whose face she’s never really seen and who can disappear better than Natasha can. 

“Just really starting to feel the run. Is that pineapple?” Jo was happily slurping down one of the smoothies, something with peanut butter and banana, and she was holding another cup that smelled strongly of pineapples. 

“For Tony. Ready to head back?” Skye’s not really sure why Jo asked it, because the older mutant was already walking. They’re only a few minutes away from the Mansion, which is good because there’s something else that she wants to ask Jo. 

“So, Logan.” Jo looked over at her with a raised brow but didn’t say anything. “Do you think he’d teach me how to fight? I know a little self-defense, but I want to know how to protect myself better.”

“Yeah, he’d love that. He’s been teaching close combat training at the school, so it’s something that he’s good at. Can I make a suggestion?” 

“Shoot.”

“After you get the basics down, ask Natasha to train you. She’s still hurting from getting shot, but she’ll be good to go in no time. She can also teach you the more fun moves.”

“And Logan can’t?” The guy is pretty old, he’s her biological grandfather but old enough to have been in pretty much every American war, so he should know all of the moves by now. 

“Logan’s a good teacher, but he’s all brute force. Made him a great teacher for me. When I fight, I don’t need finesse. I’m stronger than a human and can take a beating, which means I’m sloppy. I rarely guard myself and fight straight through. Natasha, on the other hand, fights like it’s art. If you really want to know how to guard yourself and still be deadly, she’s who you want.”

“That was very insightful.” Jo shrugged with just one arm and looked over at her with a crooked grin. 

“What can I say? I have my moments.” The other woman has a point. If Skye wants to really learn how to take care of herself, and possibly some of the others, she needs to know how to guard herself and still kick ass. In Jo’s memories, the mutant usually did fight with just her brutal strength. Her strategy was to charge straight in and break down her opponent before they could do the same to her. She’ll ask Natasha for some lessons. 

“Thanks, Jo. Any other words of wisdom?” She can see the Mansion now, so they’ll be surrounded by all of the others again soon. She’ll go up to the lab to work with Tony on removing confidential files, and Jo will…do whatever it is that the woman does during the day. 

“You know how Tony sings off key?”

“Yeah. It’d be annoying if he didn’t look so ridiculous while doing it.” A smile crept onto her face at the thought, because she’s sure that Tony plays air guitar and makes those horrible faces just to get her to laugh when they’ve been working too hard. 

“If you ever manage to sneak up on him, you might be able to hear him really sing. He’s actually really good.” Skye wanted to question that, figure out why Tony didn’t just sing well all the time if he could, but they were inside now. Loki, who’d been sitting in one of the chairs placed in the foyer, stood up as soon as they were inside. 

“I need to speak with you. Immediately.” His eyes looked away from Jo and over at her, and Skye raised a brow. 

“Are you excluding me because I laughed at your sparkly eyes?” She’s pretty sure that she should be afraid of this guy, of this god, but Darcy and Thor trust him. Jo trusts him. She’ll just have to trust them. 

“Yes. Learn from your mistake.” She can’t tell if Loki is joking or not, because his facial expression hasn’t changed at all. Jo held out the pineapple smoothie towards her, and Skye rolled her eyes in Loki’s direction before grabbing the drink. 

“Don’t worry, Skye. I’ll give Loki a lecture on manners while you tend to Tony,” Jo said with a gentle smile in her direction. Skye smiled back at Jo, scowled at Loki, and then walked over to the elevator. She was humming by the time that she reached the top floor, and she was surprised at the lack of sound in Tony’s lab. The mad genius nearly always has some kind of music going. 

“Skye! Just the hacker I was looking for! Wanna do something illegal?” She could hear Tony, but she couldn’t see him. 

“Sounds like fun!” she called back. She weaved around some equipment to reach the back of the room until she found Tony, and he wasn’t alone. Bruce was behind him and intently focused on a holoscreen, and Illyana was standing next to Bruce as he quickly moved things around. Tony was just watching it all with a too wide smile. He turned around when he heard her approach, and his eyes lit up at the sight of the smoothie. 

“Is that for me?” He made grabby hands as she got closer, and she handed it over with a smile. 

“Yeah, your platonic life partner picked it up for you at the end of our run. Speaking of which, I’m going to take a shower. Unless you desperately need me, boss?” She could see Illyana looking at her curiously, but Skye didn’t ask her what the curious look was for. She doesn’t really want to know. 

“We’re looking for Yana’s mentor right now, so you’re excused.” She nodded and turned around to start weaving her way back out of the lab, and Tony called after her. “But don’t take too long! You’ll miss out on all the hacking!”

She does love hacking, so she’ll keep her shower quick.

**JO**

“You waitin’ for me?” Jo drawled out once the elevator doors closed on Skye. The whole first floor is vacant now, as far as she can tell, except for her and Loki.

“I had a disturbing thought last night and was unsure about who to go to. I still don’t trust most of the people in here to not make an attempt on my life, so I thought you would be my safest bet.” She’s gotta hand it to Loki. Even when he’s talking somewhat badly about people, his voice is smooth and kinda calming. The dude’s definitely charming. 

“You not trusting them is kind of ironic, just saying.” At his even look, Jo sighed and forced her shoulders to relax. The run was relaxing, but Loki being worried about something definitely has her worried. She’s got a feeling that she won’t be able to shower first before dealing with whatever it is either. No, wait, the sweat that pooled along the base of her spine is drying and starting to make her itch. The only thing that’s gonna keep her away from the shower is if the world is ending in the next five minutes. 

“The scepter was not taken to Asgard. Only the Tesseract was. Who kept it?” It’s not something that she’s completely comfortable with, but she scanned her vast amount of memories for anything about the scepter. She ignored the memories of it pressing against skin (against metal) and only thought about afterwards. Surprisingly, the answer came from Maria’s memories. 

“It was taken to a SHIELD safe facility,” she answered after a few minutes. Loki raised a brow at her as his lips pulled into a thin line, and she shifted her smoothie to her left hand. 

“A SHIELD facility or a HYDRA facility?” 

“Fuck,” was the first coherent thing to come out of her mouth. Then she managed to gather her thoughts a little more and huffed out a breath. This is so not good. “JARVIS? I need Steve and Maria.”

“Where would you like them to meet you, Miss Jo?” She’s sweaty and smells funny, the world isn’t ending in the next five minutes, so she’s taking her shower. 

“My floor. Twenty minutes. Loki, you’re coming with me,” she said and started for the elevator. The god actually followed behind her, and she shifted nervously as they rode up to her floor. If HYDRA has the scepter…no, she can’t think about that. She’ll save that freak out for a little later. 

Once they were on her floor, Jo directed Loki to take a seat anywhere in the little living room and then ducked into her room. Her hair was braided and then placed into a bun before breakfast, so it’s okay. She took a quick shower to wash away the sweat that comes from a good run and then quickly pulled on some clothes. Huh. She can’t remember the last time that she wore a pair of her own skinny jeans, dark green this time, but she’s wearing one of Bruce’s light blue button-ups so that’s more normal. She left her feet bare for the moment and then walked back out into the living room, where Loki was sitting stiffly in a chair. Across from him, on one of the couches, Steve and Maria were sitting just as still. 

“I thought we were going to have to mount a rescue mission,” Maria said once she came into view. Jo propped herself up onto the arm of Loki’s chair and ignored the confused look that he sent her. He needs to know that he’s accepted here. Not well liked by all, exactly, but accepted. 

“You’re the ones that are five minutes early,” she pointed out. 

“You called us here?” Steve asked. That’s why he has her vote for leader; Steve’s always good at keeping them on track. 

“No point in polite talk, right, so I’ll get straight to it. The scepter that Loki had was taken by SHIELD and kept somewhere safe. So, my question is simple. Does SHIELD have the scepter or does HYDRA?” Maria paled at the question, so Jo had her answer. 

“Nearly all of SHIELD’s secure facilities were attacked and consequently ransacked after SHIELD fell. I’ll call Coulson and see what he knows.” Maria was up and moving before Jo had even fully processed what the woman had said, but Maria’s always been good at processing information and reacting immediately. 

“Could you help us locate it?” Jo looked down at Loki after Steve’s question, and the god somehow managed to look even paler. If anymore blood drains from his head, he’s gonna pass out. 

“I have no way of locating it, and I do not think it would be wise to have it near me. The hold it had on me has been broken, but I would rather not take chances.” Jo reached over to grab Loki’s shoulder and gave it a hard squeeze, to make sure that he could feel it, but he didn’t look over at her. That’s probably for the best. She can practically taste the fear rolling out of his door, but Loki is a proud man. He doesn’t want her, or anyone else, to see the fear that’s probably hiding behind his eyes. 

“We’ll wait until dinner to bring it up to everyone else. Maria will know more by then,” Steve said as he got to his feet. He locked eyes with her and nodded before walking off, and Jo rolled her tense shoulders. This has the potential to become absolutely disastrous, so it looks like they’re not done cleaning up messes. That’s just great.

**ILLYANA**

Dr. Banner was muttering quietly under his breath as he stared at a mostly clear screen with numbers and lines all over it, and Tony Stark was singing off-key to some rock ballad as his hands danced through the air.

 _“So, this is how geniuses really act,”_ Illyana thought as she watched the two of them work. It looked like organized chaos at best, but Jo trusts these men. Peter and Kitty trust Jo, so Illyana is just going to have to trust all of them. Even if the two men in the room do look a little crazy. 

“Skye! Light of my life! Come scan these for me?” Illyana spun around on her little stool and watched as the young woman walked farther into the room. She’s only picked up a few things about the non-Avengers living in the mansion, and Darcy and Skye are kinda fascinating. She knows that they’re Logan’s biological granddaughters, which is crazy, but she’s never met anyone whose mutations manifested so late in life. 

“Out of the way, old man.” Skye pushed Tony out of the way so that she could start working on one screen, and he laughed as he moved over to another set of screens to start looking up more images. Skye looks normal enough. Dark hair and dark eyes. Tan. Average height and weight. She’s wearing skinny jeans and a white tee shirt, with a blue and black flannel shirt on over that. She doesn’t look much older than Illyana, and she thought she was completely human up until about a week ago. 

_“I wonder what that’s like.”_ Illyana’s eyes raised up as loud footsteps sounded in the room, and she met Jo’s dark green eyes from over clear screens and whirring machinery. The older mutant froze as their eyes met, and she raised a brow in question. Illyana dropped her mental barriers, which are always up, and allowed Jo to hear her next thought. _“What’s it like to live normal and then be told that you’re not? I don’t remember what it was like to not know that I was a mutant. Is she disappointed? Sad? Angry?”_

_“Confused, I think, but she has family now. That’s something that she didn’t have before. Being a mutant isn’t something to be disappointed about, Illyana.”_ She doesn’t know much about what happened to Jo after she left the school, Peter and Kitty didn’t talk about what happened to her, but there were rumors. She heard the gossip, and she knows that some of it was true. She knows that Jo was kidnapped by humans and held against her will so that they could experiment on her; that’s how she became a telepath. She also knows that Jo helped a human organization, killed for them. 

_“Humans hate us because we’re different. They only accept us when they have use for us. That’s what some of the others think. Is that true, Tank? Do humans only want us for what we can do?”_

_“No, Illyana. Only individuals want to use us, not the human race as a whole. You’re thinking of the people that took me? They took humans as well; they didn’t discriminate, and they hurt their own species just as much as they did the mutants. And SHIELD? I volunteered to work for them. If they used me, it was because I asked them to. Besides, Tony’s human and he’s my best friend.”_

“Sweetheart? You sleepwalking?” Illyana jumped a little at the sound of Tony’s voice, it was a little loud after the quiet sound of Jo’s mental voice, and that’s another thing. The Jo she remembers, the Jo that she played with as a little girl, had such a soft voice. This Jo sounds completely different, but the smile is the same. 

“Just reassuring Illyana that you have what it takes to find her mentor. How’s that coming?” Jo walked farther into the lab, and Illyana noted the way that she gently touched Skye’s right shoulder as she passed by her. 

“I’m scanning an entire planet,” Tony said and looked over his shoulder at Bruce. The other scientist pointedly looked away, which made Tony huff before turning to face Jo again. “Should take another ten minutes or so. Thanks for the smoothie.”

“Yeah, well, you gotta keep your strength up. Can you run all this from the hall?” Jo asked and looked around. Illyana watched the way that the two scientists looked at each other before looking at Jo in tandem, and they both moved towards the older mutant at the same time. Jo promised to return the boys quickly and in one piece, and Skye snorted quietly once the lab was empty except for the two of them. 

“I feel like I’m missing something,” Illyana mused out loud. Skye looked over at her, and the young woman looks nice with a smile on her face. 

“Those three…there’s something special about them. Tony and Jo are practically married, but it’s totally platonic. Tony and Bruce are science bros, as Tony calls them, so I think they’re science married. And then Jo’s dating Bruce, which ties all of them together. I think it should be weird, but they make it work.” Skye shrugged at the end, winced a little bit, and then went back to pecking at a holoscreen in midair. Yeah, weird definitely works.

**JO**

“Please tell me there isn’t another emer—Why is he up here?” Jo glared at Tony as he cut off mid-sentence, and she smiled apologetically at Loki. It’ll take Tony a while to warm up to the god, since Loki did throw him out of a window and everything. She’s not going to think about the giant hole that led into space.

“He is up here, because I think we have a serious problem,” she said and looked between the two scientists. 

“I thought the Captain asked us to keep quiet until dinner?” Loki asked her. She tipped her head back a little to look up at him, because the god is pretty tall, and smiled. 

“Tony and Bruce don’t count. They’re my life partners.” She ignored Loki’s confused expression and quickly explained about how the scepter was probably taken by HYDRA, and she listened as Tony swore colorfully. Bruce was carefully wringing his hands, which she knows is his way of checking his pulse. She knows that Hulk won’t come out unless asked, but she also knows that some habits are hard to break.

“Last time, on the hellicarrier, we didn’t react well to the scepter. Could it make me, make Hulk, hurt people?” Bruce met Loki’s eyes as he asked the question, and Jo shared a worried look with Tony before looking over at the god as well. 

“I am not sure. Jo’s mental links should be enough to protect everyone, but the scepter is different from a common telepath.” Jo ground her teeth together and decided not to act offended at the god’s choice of words. “Anything could be possible, depending on who has the scepter. I would prepare for the worst.” 

“Bruce, you know Hulk would never hurt anyone,” she said quickly. She could hear Hulk in the back of Bruce’s mind, but she couldn’t hear what the big guy was saying. She could see the way that Bruce’s eyes turned bright green before fading back into his usual brown though. 

“Neither one of us _wants_ to hurt someone, but that doesn’t mean someone can’t make us. We need a contingency plan,” Bruce said and looked over at Tony. Jo wanted to argue, because the last contingency plan was some kind of a cage to be dropped out of a hellicarrier, but she could hear Hulk’s agreement. He didn’t want to be used to hurt anyone either. 

“We’ll do some baseline tests and see if I can make a suit that can overpower Hulk.” Jo’s seen Hulk in action, and she’s not sure if there’s anything that can really overpower Hulk. (Not even stripping his skin off can stop him.)

“Alright, boys, get back to your science. I’m going to go…do something. Knit or read. Call if you need me.” She leaned forward to smack a kiss against Tony’s cheek, and the kiss she gave Bruce was less chaste but still not long enough for her liking. She watched as they walked back to Tony’s lab, listened to their rapid science talk, and then looked over at Loki. 

“You love them both.” Her and Bruce haven’t used the L-word yet, it’s still a little too soon for that, but she loves him. She’s not sure if she’s in love with him, but she knows she can’t be too far away from that. As for Tony, well…he’s Tony. 

“Yeah, I do. How do you feel about shopping?” Loki raised a brow at her but swept one arm out, and she took that as his way of accepting her offer. Shopping for a god should take her mind off of things for a little while at least. Maybe she should bring Thor along too.

**DARCY**

“You did what?!” Darcy’s eyes were wide as Doreen recounted the events of her shopping trip with Jo, Loki, and Thor. Skye was laughing next to her and kept wiping the corners of her eyes, and Doreen’s arms waved wildly as she spoke.

“They were selling real fur! Normally I can look past it, but it made Monkey Joe really upset. I just accidentally spilled my coffee on a few things; Thor’s the one that lit the place up. This one lady kept trying to grab this giant fur…thing, it was too big to be a coat, but she got shocked every time she tried to touch it. Turns out it was Thor doing a little miniaturized lightning thing, and the saleslady caught on after like the sixth time. So, next thing I know, me and Monkey Joe are thrown over Thor’s shoulder as he runs from this giant army of security guards. Then we—”

“Long story short, we’re banned from three malls. I’m pretty sure they put up posters with Thor and Doreen’s faces, possibly Monkey Joe’s too, but we still got Loki some decent clothes,” Jo said, effectively cutting Doreen off. 

“Best day ever,” Doreen sighed and slumped back against the bar. 

“We’re supposed to set good examples!” Steve called over his shoulder. 

“Then you shouldn’t have let the Squirrel join the team,” Logan huffed. The two men were hovering over the stove, and it smelled like they were cooking something delicious. Homemade pizza?

“Hey! I can set a good example!” Doreen called back. Doreen, Jo, Darcy, and Skye were slumped against the bar in the kitchen as the guys cooked. It’s been a long day for Darcy, lots of running back and forth, so it felt good to relax with some of the girls of the house and listen to their antics. She’s still feeling a little tense though. Her first therapy session is after dinner. She knows that Skye’s first session was after lunch, but Skye hasn’t said anything about it. She’s acting the same as she normally does though, so that’s a good sign. Right?

“In Doreen’s defense, Thor caused the most attention,” Jo said and smiled at her fellow mutant. Huh. They’re a line of female mutants, the only ones in the house. Pepper, Natasha, and Maria are all human. Well, Illyana is a mutant too, but she’s just visiting. 

“Hey, how’d the search for Illyana’s mentor go?” Darcy turned towards Skye as she asked it, and Skye bit the corner of her lip as she tapped her fingers against the bar. 

“We were able to track her all the way to London. Last visual was outside of a hotel in late April. After that, it’s like she completely disappeared. All of her things were left in the room, but she just vanished. Tony’s still got programs running to locate her,” Skye said quietly. 

"Tony will find her," Jo said confidently. Skye smiled a little at that, and Doreen rocked up onto her toes as Steve pulled a large pan out of the oven. Dinnertime! “Alright, girls, go wash up! Dinner will be on the table in ten. Maybe seven.”

“Such a good ma,” Darcy said and lightly patted Jo’s shoulder. She saw the older mutant smile as she walked past, and Darcy realized that Skye and Doreen were on either side of her. Jo stayed behind, probably to help Steve and Logan carry dinner into the dining room. So it’s just a normal ending to a normal day, or as normal as they get.

**JO**

The beginning of dinner was fine, except for the way she kept randomly locking eyes with different team members sitting at the table. Or maybe it wasn’t random at all. Jo’s got a feeling that they’re all doing it on purpose, because they can’t help themselves. First, she’ll lock eyes with Steve. Who will then look down before glancing over at Maria. Who will clench her jaw and stare at her pizza like it pulled a gun on her. When Bruce catches her eyes, she can see the lingering fear in the green streaks in his brown eyes. Tony looks at her and smiles, but it’s more like a smirk that he’d give at a press conference. Loki, on the other hand, won’t look at any of them.

“What happened?” Jo and Tony both jumped at Natasha’s question, since they’d just been sharing another _look_ , and Steve and Maria looked down the table at them with disappointed eyes. 

“You told him?” Maria asked her. 

“We have an honesty policy,” she explained. 

“She told Bruce too!” Tony yelled. 

_“Tattletale!”_ She thought it as loud as she could, and this time Tony’s smile looked more like a grimace. 

“I think the rest of us deserve to know what’s going on,” Natasha said calmly. That’s a bad sign. For most people, calm is a good sign. For Natasha, calm means that someone is about to get shot. Usually Jo. 

“It’s about the scepter,” Steve started. Jo could already see Clint tensing up, but she stayed quiet as Maria explained about HYDRA taking over and confiscating things from SHIELD facilities. She’d been able to get a hold of Coulson, and the scepter was definitely missing. Jo’s pretty sure it didn’t just slip through a crack somewhere; HYDRA has it, which spells trouble for all of them if some HYDRA agent figures out how to use the thing. 

“Bruce and I have already started looking for it, along with other HYDRA bases. We’ll keep open communication with Coulson’s team. We’ll handle this.” Tony said it with pure confidence once Maria was done speaking, but Jo can feel how worried he is. She can feel how worried all of them are, and it’s making something under her skin itch. 

After that little bomb was dropped, dinner wound down and everyone separated. Pepper dragged Tony off to their bedroom, and Jo did the same with Bruce. She could tell that both geniuses wanted to be in the lab, but they’ll work themselves to death if they’re left unchecked. First, they’re gonna get a good night’s sleep and then tackle this newest problem in the morning. Jo crawled up the bed and pressed as close to Bruce as she possibly could, but she could tell that he was still lost in his head. She could vaguely hear equations and probabilities, and listening to him for more than ten seconds was starting to give her a headache. She pulled away from his mind and tightened her arms around him, and she felt his hands gripping her shoulder blades. Holding her tight against him. Grounding him. 

“It’s going to be okay,” she whispered. Bruce didn’t reply, but he didn’t really have to. She’s not sure when, or how, but this isn’t going to end well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can tell, I did something different than my usual scene breaks. I realize that there are a lot of characters and that it probably gets confusing sometimes, so I thought it might make things easier if I put names up instead. If that’s okay with everyone, I’ll keep doing it. If you prefer the old scene breaks ( **.xXx.** ), let me know and I’ll change it back!
> 
> I know this chapter had a very ominous ending, and I’m sure you can guess why! (Hint: It rhymes with Mage of Multron.) The next chapter is going to be the therapy chapter though, which I know some of you have been looking forward to! I’m really excited to write it, so I’m hoping it won’t take long to post. After that, there’s going to be some skipping around as I try to work towards the plot. That being said, I’m open to add more to the story besides just the serious plot stuff!
> 
> If there’s anything that anyone wants to see, I’m happy to take requests! Do you want to see Logan grumpily following behind Darcy and Skye at the mall? Do you want Nat and Maria to be out with the group and scare the ever living daylights out of someone trying to hit on them? Do you want Doreen and Loki reading in a tree together? Do you want Clint to fall out of an air vent during a very serious conversation between [insert whoever you want here]? Do you want Bruce to walk in on Tony waltzing with Dum-E? I’m up for writing anything!


	45. It's A Step In The Right Direction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _shake it out, shake it out_
> 
> _shake it out, shake it out, oh woah_
> 
> _and it’s hard to dance with a devil on your back_
> 
> _so shake him off, oh woah_
> 
> **Shake It Out by Florence + The Machine**

**October 6, 2014**

**SAM**

Tomorrow will mark the four week anniversary of the house-wide therapy sessions. Sam didn’t have high hopes for the first week, because he knows from experience that it takes time for people to start to open up. The next three weeks were just as disappointing as well, and he looked down at the library table. His notes are spread out all around him, carefully marked with dates and names, and he hasn’t made progress with anyone. He has five three-subject notebooks in front of him, each with a day of the week written across the front cover, and he’s not sure why he even bothered. He meets with three people Monday thru Friday, so he thought it made sense to give each person their own section. Four weeks in and he still hasn’t filled a single page. He grabbed the Tuesday folder, because he started on a Tuesday, and opened it up to the very first page.

_ TONY _   
_9/16_   
_Admitted to having a drinking problem_

_Laughed it off/“But that’s in the past”_

_9/23_  
 _Ranted about the annoyance of encrypted files_

_Briefly mentioned a headache possibly caused from the Extremis_

_9/30_  
 _Caught Skye scratching at her arm-at the cut she made_

_Spent the entire time worrying about his assistant_

_ SKYE _   
_9/16_   
_Kept repeating “Dude, I’m a mutant. How do I handle that?”_

_9/23_   
_Ranted about encrypted files_

_Used words that normal people don’t understand/Deflection?_

_9/30_   
_Went on a picnic previous Saturday with Darcy & Logan_

_Kept asking if that’s a normal family thing or just something they all saw in a movie once_

_ DARCY _   
_9/16_   
_Kept saying that her life was weird, but for the better_

_Kept saying that she was okay/weirded out but totally okay, considering_

_9/23_   
_Said she forgot to eat lunch that day and worried she was becoming like the geniuses_

_Thought out loud about setting “time to eat” alarms_

_9/30_   
_Talked about the picnic she went on with Skye & Logan the previous Saturday_

_Said it was fun, “good family bonding moment”_

_Kept looking at the table, at her fingers/Thinking about Jo in the park? The fight she saw?_

Sam closed the first notebook, sighed, and pulled over the Wednesday notebook. This one had a few more notes in it, but it was still lacking. 

_ DOREEN _   
_9/17_   
_Talked a little about growing up as a mutant with an obvious mutation/mostly shrugged it off/made jokes about pranking people with her tail or having squirrels throw nuts at people_

_9/24_   
_Mentioned that she’s been on her own since she was 18/moved around a lot/longest time staying in one place was eight months/talked about some of the more interesting places/light and fun stories_

_10/1_   
_Saw news footage of the Battle of Manhattan and felt inspired/said she wanted a team/wanted someone to watch her back/Didn’t want to join the X-Men, didn’t say why_

_ MARIA _   
_9/17_   
_When asked about childhood, gave very clinical answers_

_Mother died in the hospital/Father was in the Air Force so she moved around a lot as a kid_

_Can’t be sure but sounds like Father blamed her for Mother’s death_

_Joined the Air Force immediately after graduation_

_Served four years and was then recruited by SHIELD_

_9/24_   
_Was Jo’s handler in SHIELD_

_Worked her way to the top_

_Actually smiled while talking about some missions, in VERY vague terms_

_10/1_   
_Disappointed that she didn’t recognize HYDRA’s involvement sooner_

_Admitted to feeling unbalanced_

_Said she felt honored to be the liaison between Avengers and SHIELD (possibly sarcasm)_

_ PEPPER _   
_9/17_   
_Talked about her childhood/Mother was a librarian, now retired/Father was a math teacher, deceased, heart attack_

_Mother, Chloe, lives in California-Laguna Woods_

_Normal childhood-Still close to her Mother_

_Only child but got along with others_

_Worked at Stark Industries in the finance department before being promoted to Tony’s assistant_

_9/24_   
_Working for Tony wasn’t easy but enjoyed the challenge_

_Laughed when she said she couldn’t remember when she fell for Tony_

_Said Tony was her best friend_

_Told stories of their history together, all before “Ironman”_

_10/1_   
_Talked some about what she went through after Tony became Ironman_

_Very vague, no direct eye contact_

_Said she was happy that he wasn’t on his own anymore_

_Only made eye contact when she said she didn’t know what she would have done if Jo hadn’t shown up when she did_

Pepper opened up more than anyone else, but she was still careful about what she said. Doreen just made jokes and kept things light, and Maria spoke like she was reading from a script at times. (Sam ain’t gonna tell anyone, but Maria scares him. Just a little.) He pushed that notebook to the side and pulled the Thursday notebook in front of him. He just stared at it for a minute, to prepare himself, and then flipped it open.

_ THOR _   
_9/18_   
_Talked some about his childhood-his father, mother, brother, friends_

_Sounded like a fairytale but with a little more violence_

_Father sounds controlling and manipulative_

_Mother sounds supportive_

_Brother-Loki-sounds like a supporter and an instigator, depending on what tale Thor is telling_

_Friends sound like fun-Maybe we can recruit them?_

_9/25_   
_Talked about the first time he met Darcy-took ten minutes for him to say Jane Foster’s name_

_Mostly talked about trying to learn a new world without having his Hammer_

_He fought Loki and destroyed his way back to Earth-said it was one of the hardest things he’s ever done_

_10/2_   
_Said there are still things about this world that he doesn’t understand_

_Told stories of others in the house teaching him_

_Fun and light stories-didn’t want to talk about the tension that’s STILL in the house surrounding Loki_

_ STEVE _   
_9/18_   
_Talked about Bucky, some_

_Mostly made plans for how to keep looking for him_

_9/25_   
_Talked about how I’m adjusting to the house and everyone in it_

_NOTE TO SELF: Rogers is sneaky and cannot be trusted_

_10/2_   
_Talked about the progress on the Bucky search-there is no progress_

_Mentioned his three way spar with Logan and Jo-Jo won_

_Said he felt restless staying in the mansion_

_Talked aloud about getting out more but no definite plans_

_ ~~REVIEW~~ _   
_ DEADPOOL _   
_9/25_   
_Deadpool showed up out of nowhere-nearly gave me a heart attack_

_Sprawled across the library table and started talking about parts of his childhood_

_Very abusive_

_Totally open about the few things he could remember_

_Told stories about his days as a mercenary_

_Talked about his time in the Weapon X Program/Wanted to cure his cancer so he could stay with his lady, who later left him-“Can’t blame her. I mean, have you seen me? No, wait, you haven’t. Wanna see?”_

_(I regret agreeing)_

_10/2_   
_Deadpool showed up again, unannounced and somehow undetected_

_Talked about his latest missions-very bloody but still humorous_

_Narrated the voices in his head_

_Continuously “broke the fourth wall”_

_Believes that this is a story and not real_

_“We’re all just characters, man! We’re not real! A fucking unicorn could come flying outta my ass just because of a few keystrokes!”_

_Gave me a bird plushy before disappearing/it’s a penguin that’s possibly splattered with blood/will wash it and keep it_

That first Thursday after dinner, Sam had gone up to the library and reviewed the therapy sessions he’d already had. Then he’d tried to prepare for the ones to come. On the second Thursday, Deadpool appeared and said he didn’t want to miss out on the fun. As far as Sam can tell, no one knows that Deadpool has been sneaking into the mansion. Sam hasn’t told anyone, because Deadpool is the only one that doesn’t hold back during the therapy sessions. It’s refreshing. Third notebook down. Sam grabbed the fourth and could already feel a headache starting. This one has been the most difficult so far.

_ CLINT _   
_9/19_   
_Said absolutely nothing_

_Stared at me the entire time_

_Never saw him blink_

_Left via air vent_

_9/26_   
_Asked if we could be bird bros_

_Talked, in detail, about our “routine”_

_Funny ideas but I’m not doing any of that_

_Especially the canon thing_

_10/3_   
_Answered all questions with either a shrug or “Caw-Caw Motherfucker!”_

_ LOKI _   
_9/19_   
_Asked if I was scared of him-Told him he looked like a beanpole_

_Remained mute for the rest of the session_

_9/26_   
_Played a game called Truth or Lie_

_Said statements and made me guess-Never told me if I was right or wrong_

_Possibilities are endless_

_10/3_   
_Complained about EVERYTHING_

_His sheets, the shower, his clothes, being confined, being stared at, the food, humanity in general_

_ NATASHA _   
_9/19_   
_Said absolutely nothing_

_Stared at me the entire time_

_Not sure if she blinked_

_Winked before leaving_

_9/26_  
 _Brought an alarming amount of guns_

_Spent the session cleaning them and explaining what she was doing_

_10/3_   
_Filed and painted her nails_

_Told a story about how she broke into a bank using a nail file/might have possibly killed someone using a nail file_

Fridays have become the bane of Sam’s existence. Between the assassins and the surly god, he’s losing it. None of them have said anything even remotely helpful, so Sam’s not even sure why they agreed to therapy. He knows it takes time for people to open up, but they haven’t budged at all. Thankfully, Monday makes up for that. Sam grabbed his last notebook, placed it right in front of him, and flipped it open.

_ JO _   
_9/22_   
_Started with her childhood/Loved her mother/Loves Logan, who stepped in as a father figure_  
Talked about dancing with her Ma/fairs and camping trips/painting different rooms of the house  
Talked about the mutant school/the friends she made there/her “adopted” little sister 

_9/29_   
_Briefly talked about ROSE and working for SHIELD_

_Gave some details-the ones she said “stuck” with her_

_Like having her head shaved_

_Said she’s been thinking of cutting her hair but she’s a little scared to_

_10/6_   
_Talked about everyone in the mansion and how she feels about each person_

_Very touching_

_Slightly illuminating_

_She’s protective (worried)_

_Looks like she hasn’t been sleeping well but hasn’t said anything_

_At the end-said she hated that everyone in the house had seen the worst of her_

_Left before I could say anything_

_ BRUCE _   
_9/22_   
_Talked very vaguely about childhood_

_Mother died when he was young/Father “wasn’t a good man” and is now deceased_

_Raised by an aunt_

_Normal from there-school, college, casual friends, first love-Betty_

_9/29_   
_Talked some about the accident that caused Hulk_

_Said he spent years running and trying to get rid of Hulk_

_Seemed a little ashamed-admitted that he’d apologized to Hulk for everything_

_Mentioned seeing Betty recently and said they had closure_

_10/6_   
_Started with talking about Jo and Tony_

_Said they were never afraid of him-helped him open up-made him feel normal_

_He’d do anything for anyone in the house-those two are different, more_

_Mentioned that he and Hulk had fully integrated-Hulk is officially a genius_

So some people of the house have opened up a little, but they’re all staying away from the big things. Tony hasn’t said anything about all of the traumatic things he’s been through over the years, and Darcy and Skye haven’t talked about being attacked just for their mutant genes to activate. Doreen, Maria, and Pepper kept things light and only mentioned a heavy topic in either a detached manner or a joking one. Thor distracted Sam with wild stories from outer space, and Steve distracted him with plans for finding Bucky or by asking after Sam’s welfare. (Deadpool was surprisingly open, and Sam felt like they were making progress.) Clint and Natasha have barely said anything about anything, and Loki talked in riddles or insults. Jo and Bruce are a little more open, but they still skirt around the really hard stuff. 

Sam just finished with Bruce, and dinner was only a couple of hours ago. Everyone should still be awake, and it’s about time Sam talked to all of them. He stacked up his notebooks in a neat little pile and then placed them inside of a backpack. Then he slumped back in his chair and stared up at the library ceiling. He can wait and see if this week will be any different, but he doesn’t see the point. They’re going to keep deflecting, so it’s time for some tough love.

“JARVIS? I’m calling a team meeting. Get everyone into the den.”

“Right away, Master Sam.” Time to go scold a bunch of superheroes and mutants.

**JO**

“Team meeting in the den, immediately.” Jo paused at the sound of JARVIS’s voice, and Darcy crashed against her. They both stuttered out a breath, and Jo realized they were still locked in their dancing stance. Jo was taking the lead, so she had one hand laced with Darcy’s and the other hand supporting Darcy’s lower back.

“Tony! You called a team meeting?!” Jo yelled. Her and Darcy are dancing in Tony’s lab, and Tony and Skye are somewhere in here. She heard feet scrambling, and Tony and Skye came into a view a moment later. 

“Not me,” Tony said while shaking his head. Jo and Darcy untangled themselves, and Jo reached up to rub the back of her neck since her braided hair was on top of her head. 

“Who then?” Darcy asked. Jo shrugged, because Tony’s the only one that’s ever called for a team meeting. 

“There’s only one way to find out,” Skye said and looked towards the door. She’s got a point. Jo looped her arm through Darcy’s as Tony threw an arm around Skye’s shoulders, and the four of them left the lab. 

The elevator stopped at the fifth floor, and Clint and Natasha got on. Neither one of them called for a meeting. The elevator stopped again at the fourth floor. Loki and Doreen joined them in the elevator and said neither of them asked for a team meeting. Jo expected them to reach the first floor after that, but the elevator stopped again at the third floor. Logan, Steve, and Illyana (because they still haven’t found her mentor) got on this time. The elevator was starting to get a little crowded, but their three new additions promised that they didn’t know anything about a team meeting. At the ground floor, they all stumbled out of the elevator and started for the den. 

“Pepper! Did you finish…” Jo lost track of what Darcy was asking as sound filled the room, and she followed Tony over to the couch that they usually sat on during meetings. Pepper was talking to Darcy now, and Sam and Maria were standing up and talking quietly to each other. Not even a full minute later, Thor and Bruce walked into the den. Thor was wearing basketball shorts and a white tee shirt, and Bruce was wearing a pair of black Hulk shorts and a plain gray tee shirt. They must have been sparring. 

“Why are we having a team meeting?” Bruce asked quietly after sitting next to her on the couch. The question was directed at Tony, who was on her other side, and Tony shrugged. 

“This one is not on me,” Tony said and crossed his arms. Now that everyone was gathered in the room, people started to sit down. Pepper sat next to Tony, which filled up their couch. Illyana, Logan, and Darcy took another couch. Skye sat on the floor and leaned back against Darcy’s legs. Loki and Thor sat on a loveseat, and Doreen perched on the back of the loveseat between the two gods. Steve, Sam, and Maria sat on another couch. Clint sat in a chair, and Natasha sat on the arm of the chair with one arm braced against the back of it. So, everyone’s assembled. Now what?

“Isn’t this the part where someone starts talking? Or did JARVIS call us here for a team meeting?” Doreen asked after the room was quiet for a minute. Jo looked around the room, and she watched as Sam wiped his palms against his jeans and then slowly got to his feet. He looked nervous, his eyes kept darting around the room, but he kept his shoulders straight as he stood in the center of where they’ve all congregated. 

“I asked for a team meeting,” Sam said and then made a point of looking all of them in the eye. 

“Is something wrong?” Steve asked first. Before anyone else could ask anything, Sam held a hand up. Everyone settled back, and Sam crossed his arms over his chest. 

“I get that all of you have been through some rough stuff. Hell, my life ain’t been a picnic either. But all of you agreed to therapy, to try, and none of you have opened up. The only person who has actually talked openly about the worst parts of his life is Deadpool. Deadpool! He’s not even a member of this team!” 

“Uncle Wade’s been here?” Jo asked quickly. She could hear how frustrated Sam was, but she was confused about Uncle Wade’s appearance. Mostly because she hasn’t seen him since she left Greenland. 

“How did Deadpool get in without me knowing?” Tony asked right after her. Sam narrowed his eyes on both of them, and Jo shrunk back against the couch so that she was slightly hiding behind Bruce and Tony. 

“I don’t know, and I don’t really care. I want this to work, okay? I want to help all of you, but I can’t do that if you never open up. So, if you’re never going to be honest with me, stop coming. You’re wasting my time, and you’re wasting your time. Got it?” Jo’s tried to open up, she’s admitted to some things, but she hasn’t gone deep into detail. Opening up like that isn’t easy, but Sam has a point. If they’re all keeping quiet, there’s no point in having therapy sessions. 

“I’ll try harder,” Jo said quietly. She could hear everyone else mumbling an agreement, so it looks like Sam has managed to chastise them all. 

“And one more thing. Jo?” Her chin raised a little at the sound of her name, and she met Sam’s eyes head-on. “I can’t remember any of your memories. Not any details. I know you suffered, but I don’t remember anything about that place. It’s like everything I got from the mind meld just faded away.”

“I can’t remember anything either,” Darcy said next. Bruce told her about a week ago that he couldn’t remember any of her memories, except for the dream where she accidentally linked their minds. Tony told her the same thing a few days before that. She just wasn’t sure if it was the same for everyone else. 

“I can, uh, I can still remember everything. Clearly,” Skye admitted quietly. Jo’s got thirteen sets of memories, but only one other person has her memories. She can live with that. 

“I can’t access any of your memories.” Jo paused to look around the room, and she could see a few subtle signs of relief. “It’s like, I’ve got a lot of little doors in my mind. Each door feels different, I know who each door belongs to, but I can’t open them. I can knock, Tony and Bruce can open their doors to get my attention, but I can’t just go poking through any of your memories. So I guess we’re all even?”

“So you can’t remember anything from any of us?” Maria asked. The look in her eyes is calculating, and Jo gets it. She’s hated the idea of everyone knowing her whole past, so she imagines it’s the same for all of them. 

“I did all the mental links back-to-back, so I never really had a chance to process the individual memories. I have dreams sometimes, but I forget them when I wake up.” That last part is true. The dreams are more like nightmares, Bruce has had to shake her awake on more than one occasion over the past several weeks, but she can never hold onto the images after she wakes up. 

“Alright, now that we’ve got that out of the way, you’re all free to go. But I expect things to change this week,” Sam said sternly. With that, the meeting was over.

**SAM**

_  
TONY  
_  
 _10/7_  
 _Admitted to being an arrogant, cocky, asshole/Said worst part was that for a genius, he was naïve/Didn’t realize that the man he trusted, the man he looked up to, was against him/That his tech was being sold to the bad guys/Said he didn’t even know how many people died because of his ignorance/Fights now to try and find a balance/Right his wrongs/Said he was scared, for himself and everyone else/Admitted to having panic attacks after the Loki attack/Has been using drinking as a coping mechanism since he was a teenager/Hands still shake whenever he gets the urge to drink/Still has nightmares about falling from space, about Pepper falling into fire, about someone he trusts ripping out his arc reactor/Nightmares are infrequent but still powerful/Has to be careful in the lab and resist the urge to build an army of suits/It didn’t work out last time and says that he doesn’t need an army of suits because he has a team/Still has the urge though/Admitted that he’s worried that Pepper will leave him again/Said he understood why she left-because he was repressing everything that’s happened and just focusing on her/Working on not repressing as much_

_Asked him to start a dream journal (he scoffed but agreed)/Told him to talk to Pepper about his worries/When he has the urge to drink, told him to either count backwards from a hundred or work on difficult equations-anything to occupy his mind-something simple but consuming_

_ SKYE _   
_10/7_   
_Completely freaking out about the family thing, more than the mutant thing/Curious about her mutant abilities and wants to find a way to access them again-without being shot at/Worried about her new family/Scared that she met them only to lose them later/Admitted to thinking about running away, disappearing and going completely off the grid/Loves sharing a room with her twin and says that they’re already close, and that scares her even more/Said it would be easier if she hated Darcy and Logan/She kept herself apart from all the other kids in her foster homes because they always left/ “Everyone always leaves, so how do I know this is any different?”/Likes everyone else in the house, gets along with everyone else, which puts her more on edge/Said she had a feeling like something horrible was going to happen/Like how some people fear tsunamis/Some days it’s not so bad/Some days she admitted to hiding in the lab and not making eye contact/She leaves the house regularly to go for walks and some days she has to talk herself into coming back_

_Told her to make a note every time she gets the urge to run away and to write down what happened immediately before_

_ DARCY _   
_10/7_   
_Said she had a panic attack the first time she came to the house/She thought Jane Foster was a friend, cared about her, but Jane sent her away/She worked at a Starbucks and lived in an apartment not meant for humans/Then Tony Stark hired her and her world shifted on its side in a matter of hours/“So, yeah, I totally freaked. That whole first week? I kept expecting Tony to change his mind and send me away like Jane did. Because I’m not an astrophysicist or an engineer or any kind of scientist.”/Said it scared her at first, how close she became to Tony and Jo in a short span of time/She’s adjusted now, trusts her team, but she’s still getting used to having blood family/Said a part of her freaks out whenever her and Skye finishes each other’s sentences/Said Logan is super nice and funny, but sometimes it hits her that he’s her grandfather and she has to go hyperventilate somewhere/Working for Pepper grounds her/Gives her a purpose and is something that she enjoys/Still worried that she’s going to be sent away/ “Thank you so much for all of your help, but I think it’s time that you moved on. That’s what she said! Like I can’t translate that? She meant it was time for her to move on, without me. What if Pepper reaches a point where she doesn’t need an assistant? And, let’s be real, Tony and Jo are both in committed relationships. When they have actual kids, which I will be stoked about, they’ll stop joking about me being their lovechild. I know it’s stupid, but I really like the way we joke around. I’m gonna miss it, and it’s going to feel like another dismissal. Like they’re moving on. And Skye and Logan? Yeah, we’re family, but we’ve lived without each other. What if Skye leaves? She doesn’t really have a reason to stay, except for me and Logan. She could leave at any moment. And Logan’s going to live for, like, ever so what if he decides that sticking around isn’t worth it? I sound like such a head case worrying about what-ifs, but these people are my family. All of them, and any of them could leave at any moment.”_

_Told her to make a list of everyone in the house and what they mean to her/Then, next to that, write down her fears about them/After that, talk to them/Not all in one day, but a little at a time/Told her to make sure she listens to their answers/Write them down later so that she can read them whenever she starts to worry again_

_ DOREEN _   
_10/8_   
_Started off by saying that she had no reason to complain about her life, especially compared to the others in the house/Said she was bullied when she was younger for her obvious mutant traits but she’s over it/Admitted that the negative reactions from her childhood kept her isolated/Even after meeting other mutants and open-minded humans she stayed isolated/She wanted to join a team because she was lonely/ “I’m thirty years old and I don’t think I’ve ever had a real home. That’s not normal, right? Never having a home? And I don’t even know if this place is home. Maybe in seven months I’ll just disappear without anyone noticing or caring. I’ve done it before. Everyone here acts like a family, at least I think they do. It’s hard for me to tell because my own family was…quiet. My parents rarely even looked at me, much less talk. Here? People are always hugging, or tackling, or cuddling, or just existing together. I’ve never had that. It’s kinda weird, but in a good way? Why am I even talking about this?”/Worried about acceptance and rejection_

_Asked her to hug one person a day, no one two days in a row, until she’s hugged everyone in the house/Also asked her to go on outings with others, spend time with different people outside of the house_

_ MARIA _   
_10/8_   
_Admitted that her father blamed her for her mother’s death/She moved around a lot as a kid/Her dad was always busy, so she was mostly raised by nannies until she was old enough to take care of herself/Her father decided that fourteen was old enough for her to take care of herself/Thrived in the Air Force and would have stayed if her superior officers hadn’t put her down at every turn/She worked for Fury because Fury respected her/SHIELD was the first place that felt like home to her/Admitted that the fall of SHIELD was like someone burning her house down but she’s trying to rebuild/She trusts the people in the house but said it’s not easy/Some part of her is waiting to be betrayed again_

_Told her to start reaching out to the house members/To build trust with everyone/Can’t build trust without interaction, so told her to spend more time with different people_

_ PEPPER _   
_10/8_   
_Cried, only a little, while talking about Tony becoming Ironman/Said she noticed how he lost a little more of himself every time he put the suit on/After the Extremis incident she barely even recognized him anymore/He drank more than he ever had before, had violent nightmares, stayed in the lab for days/Admitted that she didn’t know what to do because he wouldn’t talk to her, just said that he would be fine but she could see that he wasn’t/Left him because he was never going to try to get better with her there/Said leaving him was the hardest thing she’d ever done/Not just because she was in love with him/Tony is her best friend, was her only friend for a decade/Admitted that she felt lost without him and almost went back to him a dozen times/Said they talked about what happened, why she left and what he went through after she did/Said that she had no intention of ever leaving him again/Admitted that she didn’t think she’d survive leaving him again/Said that she could never thank Jo enough for what she did/Loves Jo for saving Tony, for supporting him and being there for him/Still worries about Tony putting on the suit but is comforted by the thought that he’s not fighting alone anymore_

_Told her to form friendships with others/Others in the house or out of it, doesn’t matter/Told her she needs more than just Tony as a friend/She needs people she can lean on/More connections_

_THOR_   
_10/9_  
 _Opened up about his father and the things he’s done in recent years/Said that he and Loki were often pitted against each other as children/Talked about what it was like to be thrown into a world he did not know, by his father, when he was only doing what he thought his father wanted/Skipped ahead to his father lying to him about his mother’s death and his father’s indifference to Loki/It angered him that his father didn’t seem to care for Loki/Talked about Jane Foster, some/Said he missed her but understood her reasoning/Admitted that they were different, too different, to work out in the long run/Said that sometimes he still felt adrift on Earth but that he doesn’t want to desert his team_

_Asked him to learn more about the planet that he’s on now/To leave the mansion, with Loki, and see the planet that he’s staying here to protect_

_STEVE_  
 _10/9_   
_Clenched his jaw for the first five minutes/Then admitted that he’d recently gone to see Peggy Carter/Her health is declining and some days she can’t remember him at all/Doctors told him that she probably doesn’t have very long left/Said that sometimes he wishes he could go back and stop himself from flying the plane into the ocean/Knows he did the right thing but still feels out of place/Dreams that the war is over and that he’s home with Peggy/Wakes up those days feeling more out of place and disconnected/Focusing on looking for Bucky helps, gives him focus and purpose/Admitted that searching is also burning him out_

_Told him to lighten up and stop carrying the world on his shoulders/Told him to get out some and see what the world looks like today/Asked him to start sketching again-things outside of the house to prove that he’s actually going out in the world_

_ DEADPOOL _   
_10/9_   
_Dropped in and told a very funny story about three ninjas, a hot pink Moped, a rubber chicken, and a guy dressed as the Pope_

_ CLINT _   
_10/10_   
_Took one of my notebooks and made thirty-seven paper airplanes while he talked/Abusive father and submissive mother died in a car accident when he was young/Him and his older brother stayed in a group home for a little while before joining the circus/Loved the circus/Felt like he belonged for the first time and where he learned to shoot/Caught his mentor stealing from the circus, confronted him, and was beaten/His older brother left not long after that/Moved to another circus and adopted a little girl as a younger sister/She died of pneumonia/Buried her himself/Got into a lot of trouble until SHIELD found him and recruited him/He recruited Natasha/Said nothing else about Natasha/Admitted to doing some things he regrets while working for SHIELD but said he believed he was doing the right thing at the time/Feels unbalanced by the HYDRA reveal/Hates that he understands Loki’s perspective/Hates the role that he played in the god’s scheme/Remembers every person that he killed while brainwashed and doesn’t care that they were all apparently HYDRA_

_Told him that every time he thinks of someone that he killed, he has to think of someone that he saved/Told him to write down both situations and remember that no one is perfect, Barton_

_ LOKI _   
_10/10_   
_Talked about growing up as the younger brother of Thor and how their Father always seemed to be disappointed in him/Thor never hesitated to stick up for him/His mother taught him when his father took up time with Thor/Said their father told them stories about the horrors of Frost Giants when he and Thor were younger/Made learning that he was a Frost Giant even worse/Admitted that the knowledge of his true parentage and his jealously over Asgard’s love of Thor drove him to do things that he regrets/Like sending a giant robot thing to kill his brother and destroy a small town/Talked about what it was like to fall through space, through nothingness/Didn’t say the name of the person, or thing, that found him but admitted to being tortured/Nothing that he couldn’t handle/Held on for the right time/The stone from the scepter showed him what he needed to make his invasion of Earth fail/Said he wanted to ask Thor for help but couldn’t/Talked about what it was like to be locked in a cell and the anger he felt when he learned that his mother was dead/Said he was worried when he was injured because he didn’t want to be taken over again/Grudgingly said that he was thankful to Thor and Jo for freeing his mind/Admitted that being told to stay in the mansion made him feel like being caged all over again_

_Told him to leave the mansion, with a chaperone/Asked him to apologize to everyone in the mansion that he hurt, doesn’t matter if he was just doing what needed to be done_

_ NATASHA _   
_10/10_   
_Leaned back in her chair, put her feet on the table, and spoke to the ceiling/Said she was raised in a place called the “Red Room”/Young girls were trained and tested to become spies and assassins/Handcuffed to bed at night to stop from escaping/Killed for the first time when she was seven/Killed a lot of people, guilty and innocent, until Clint found her/Admitted that Clint was supposed to kill her but recruited her instead/Joined SHIELD to make up for all the things she’d been forced to do by the people who ran the RR/Finding out SHIELD was HYDRA made her feel like she was on the wrong side again/Trusts this team to be on the right side/Wants to be on the right side/Admitted to keeping a distance because she’s always prepared to start over and become someone else/Admitted that she shapes herself into what other people want/That’s how she was trained_

_Asked her to open up to her team more/Not tell her whole life story but spend time with people other than Clint (or Steve)/Get to know her teammates/Be genuine and not just what she thinks they want her to be_

_ JO _   
_10/13_   
_Jumped right into what happened to her at ROSE/Talked about the different ways she was tested and about the nurse she killed/Admitted to stabbing Natasha during the confusion of the rescue/Said she felt wrong after she was freed and that’s why she joined SHIELD/Ashamed to return home and for people to see how she’d changed/Admitted that killing was easy to start with/“The dead don’t think. It just goes quiet.”/Said that her job is the reason it didn’t work out with Johnny Storm and why she didn’t bother starting another relationship/Regrets killing some people but not everyone that she killed under SHIELD’s employ/Said that sometimes making the hard call is necessary/“Killing someone to save someone. Maybe it’s morally wrong, I don’t know, but I wouldn’t change those decisions even if I could.”/Admitted that the amount of mental links she’s created is dangerous/If one of them gets hurt, it could damage her permanently/Talked to the Professor more since returning to the mansion/Professor believed she was only creating a few mental links, not thirteen/Admitted that the nightmares she has are usually violent/Can’t remember them after waking up/Nightmares aren’t every night and can’t be predicted/Said her reactions are getting worse though_

_Told her to write down her reactions and anything that she can remember immediately after waking up/Need to keep a record of all the side effects from the mental links_

_ BRUCE _   
_10/13_   
_Said he was abused by his father when he was younger and that’s when he learned how to hide/Not just physically/Hid his emotions, especially his anger, as he got older/Loved Betty but still kept part of himself hidden/Admitted to hating Hulk for years/Hated the anger, the destruction, and how scared he was/Ran away from everyone and everything/Admitted to attempted suicide, which only failed because Hulk took over/Said the first time he felt at peace was the first time he talked to Hulk/Actually talked to him, after eating some flowers that some other telepath gave him/Admitted that he still worried about losing control, even though he and Hulk talk regularly now/Said he still expects the people in the house to be afraid of him or to reject him_

_Asked him to let Hulk out more, outside of sparring or reading to Jo (didn’t even know that was a thing that happens on the regular)/Told him he needs the others to see that Hulk is just another part of him and can come out without being violent_

After Bruce left, Sam closed his notebook and leaned back in his chair. For the past week, everyone has actually started talking about stuff that matters. It’s a step in the right direction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this chapter was more difficult than you can believe, and I really hope that I stayed true to everyone’s character. If you think I messed up anyone’s characterization, please tell me. I know there were some light moments in this chapter, but it mostly covered some pretty heavy stuff. So I’m going to make the next chapter a little more fluffy and fun. I am still open to taking requests for future scenes though! Also, I have mapped out the upcoming chapters leading up to _Age of Ultron_ and _Civil War_. Not so much in numbered chapter formats, but I’ve outlined all the things that are going to occur between now and then. If you’re worried about things happening exactly like they did in the movies, don’t be. A lot is going to be changed, but that will be revealed later!


	46. Some Sense Of Normalcy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _i'm gonna love ya, i'm gonna love ya_   
>  _gonna love ya, gonna love ya_   
>  _like a black widow, baby_   
>  _black, black widow, baby_   
>  **Black Widow by Iggy Azalea feat. Rita Ora**

**October 23, 2014**

**TONY**

“That is a lot of food,” he said and looked down the length of the dining room table. He felt a chin hooking over his shoulder and looked over, and dark green eyes met his. Jo was grinning so wide that the skin around her eyes crinkled, and she rubbed her nose against his cheek.

“We weren’t sure what his favorite food was, so we just made a little bit of everything,” she explained. 

“I think all of you did an amazing job,” Pepper said quietly from his other side. Thor, Darcy, Doreen, Jo, Natasha, and Steve all woke up earlier than usual to work on the breakfast feast. Everyone, minus two, was in the dining room now and looking at the fruits of their labor. Jo hummed quietly in his ear and then stepped back, and he looked over to see her leaning back against Bruce. 

“Steve’s bringing him now. On the count of three?” Jo looked around the room, and Tony watched as everyone nodded. “One, two, three.”

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” Sam visibly jumped in the doorway and nearly tripped over Steve, who was standing just behind him, as the whole dining room yelled at him. A few were even still cheering and yelling out. 

“What the—I didn’t tell any of you when my birthday was!” Sam yelled and pointed a finger around the room. Then his eyes stopped on Tony, and he realized that everyone else was looking at him too. 

“It wasn’t me!” he quickly defended.

“It was me,” Skye said with a proud smile. Sam’s glare softened, somewhat, and then he looked at the table. 

“Why is there so much food?” Darcy and Doreen started talking at the same time about how they came up with what breakfast dishes to cook, and everyone slowly moved so that they were sitting in their usual seats. Pepper was on one side of him, and Bruce was on his other side with Jo in his lap. He felt toes digging under his thigh, but Jo was stuffing half of a pancake in her mouth when he looked over. 

“Oh, Tony, you have to try this,” Pepper said and held her fork up. He eyed the gooey looking roll, shrugged, and ate the thing in one bite. Caramel. Not bad. 

“So, not that I’m complaining, but why the big birthday breakfast?” Sam asked several minutes later. There was a dent in the amount of food on the table, a small one, but some of them were starting to slow down. Jo, Bruce, Thor, Loki, Steve, and Doreen were still eating at a steady rate though. 

“Because you’ve put up with us for weeks now and deserved a treat,” Jo explained around a mouthful of eggs. 

“You’ve been helping us, and we wanted to thank you,” Maria added. 

“So what do you want for your birthday, Wilson?” Natasha asked. Sam blinked as he looked around the table, thinking it over, and then his face split in a smile. Tony knew that smile. That smile was promising trouble. 

“I wanna go dancing.” Sound exploded again as everyone started talking at once, and it sounded like a few house members were already planning an outing for Saturday night. 

_“You good with that, boss?”_ Jo was talking excitedly with Clint, her usual dancing partner, but the sound of her mental voice was clear. It was stronger than it used to be too. It almost sounded like her speaking voice now. 

_“Why wouldn’t I be?”_ Pepper was talking down the table to Maria and Natasha, something about which club would be best, so Tony focused his attention on his bodyguard. 

_“Nightclubs generally serve alcohol, and I know you’ve avoided places like that. So you don’t have to go if it’s too much for you.”_ He wouldn’t lie, at least to himself this time. He worried about slipping, about relapsing, when they first moved back to Manhattan. Sometimes he still worried about relapsing, but he could handle a night out dancing. 

_“I’ll be fine. You’ll be there to keep me safe, right?”_ The toes tucked under his thigh wiggled, which felt weird but still somehow comforting, and he realized that Jo and Clint were scribbling down new dance moves they wanted to try on a napkin. 

_“You know it, boss.”_

_“You’re the best bodyguard ever, sweetheart.”_ More wiggling was her only reply to that, but it was the only reply he really needed.

**October 25, 2014**

**DARCY**

“How many people even live here?” Darcy asked. She was spread out over her bed with her head slightly hanging over the side; across the room, Skye was on her own bed in the same position so that their eyes could meet upside-down.

“Too many,” Skye answered. 

“Sixteen, Miss Darcy,” JARVIS clarified. Skye whistled quietly, and Darcy tried to go over all the names in her head. Sixteen sounded about right though. 

“Is everyone going?” Darcy asked. Tonight was the big night. The only present that Sam asked for was a night out dancing, so that was what they were going to do. Darcy was half convinced that some of them were going to wind up in jail before the night was over, but it should be fun. 

“I think Logan said he was going to pass,” Skye said with a quiet laugh. 

“I’m guessing he phrased that differently.” Logan was a cool guy, once you got past his gruff nature. Darcy had seen movies and shows with grandfathers in them, but Logan was nothing like that. Maybe because he didn’t look like a grandfather?

“Jo! They’re just lying around!” Darcy and Skye both jumped before scrambling to sit up on their beds, and Illyana smiled at them from their now open doorway. Darcy liked the younger mutant; she’d been hanging around for the past month or so, and Illyana liked telling Darcy and Skye about the school. Darcy had no idea that there were so many different kinds of mutations. So she was used to Illyana popping up out of nowhere. The mutant was light on her feet. 

“Lying around?! Come on, kids, up and at ‘em!” Jo yelled as she walked into the room behind Illyana. 

“Yeah, it’s time to make ourselves even hotter than we already are!” Doreen added and closed the bedroom door behind her. 

“You’re here to help us get ready?” Skye asked and looked at the three extra bodies in their room. 

“Duh,” Jo drawled and rolled her eyes. “One of the best things about going out, is getting ready. To the closets!”

**PEPPER**

“Not that one! Wear the red one so we can be twinsies!” Pepper fought down a smile at the sound of Jo’s voice drifting from the other side of the floor, and she could hear Darcy laughing.

“That woman has never learned the art of subtlety,” Maria said quietly while looking towards the door.

“You never had to go on a mission with her.” Natasha said it while flipping through some of the dresses in the closet, so only Pepper got to see Maria roll her eyes.

"I went on missions with her," Maria huffed. Pepper caught the dress tossed her way and smoothed her fingers over the white silky fabric. 

“You supervised her! I had to go out in the field with her!” Natasha threw out another dress, something black and red, and Maria easily caught it. 

“Is Jo that difficult in the field?” Pepper asked and looked over at Maria. She knew that Jo was strong and went on countless SHIELD missions, but she couldn’t remember any of the details. Those memories were gone now. 

“Only on covert ops,” Natasha answered as she finally stepped out of the closet. A black dress was draped over her arm, and she smiled as she looked at the other two women in the room. “Now, let’s focus on getting ready. I want people to swoon when they see us.”

**JO**

Not for the first time, and probably not for the last time, Jo smoothed her hands down the length of her red dress. Maybe going strapless wasn’t such a good idea? The dress did cling to her and didn’t move that much, but she always worried a little when she wore something strapless. Her fingers hit bare skin before making it halfway down her thighs, and she let out a quiet sigh. The dress was fine. Instead of touching the dress again, she lifted her hands and carefully touched her hair. It was put up, to keep it out of her way, and she checked to make sure that the up-do was holding.

“I didn’t know tanks fidgeted,” Doreen whispered to her. It sounded like she was holding in a laugh, so Jo looked over. Sure enough, Doreen was biting down on the corner of her bottom lip but still smiling. Jo nudged the much shorter woman with her shoulder, and Doreen rocked to the side with a quiet laugh. 

“I’m not fidgeting,” Jo whispered back. 

“Good, because you look hot so there’s no need.” Jo rolled her eyes, and Doreen poked her in the ribs. “It’s your turn to tell me that I look hot.”

“You look adorable,” Jo grinned. Doreen threw her head back in a laugh, and Jo watched the way that her brown hair waved with the movement. Her hair had a bit of a red tint in the light. Adorable wasn’t wrong, but Jo could also admit that Doreen was killing it in her little black dress. The fluffy brown tail wrapped around her waist like a belt was just so cute though!

“I bet we’ll be able to cause a riot,” Doreen said once she stopped laughing. The other woman was looking at the three giggling mutants on the other side of the room, and Jo looked over. Darcy was wearing a strapless red dress just like Jo’s, but the red was a little darker. It also matched her lipstick. Skye’s dress had small sleeves and was a dark pink, and Illyana was wearing a dark blue dress covered with white flowers. All three of them had decided to keep their hair down, and looking at them made Jo think of her teenage years at the school. Reminded her of nights when they would get dressed up and sneak out of the school, to go mingle with humans and pretend to be normal. 

“Well, if we don’t, they sure will,” Jo said and tilted her head to the other side of the foyer. 

As she spoke, Pepper’s quiet laugh filled the space. Pepper and Maria both had their hair up, so Jo wasn’t the only one that liked to put her hair up when she knew she was going to be doing a lot of moving around. Jo was pretty sure that she could never rock a white dress like Pepper was doing though. The skirt of Maria’s dress was black, and the top was black and red with a single strap around her neck. Natasha went all out though, which didn’t surprise Jo in the least. Natasha was also the only person Jo knew that had actually caused a riot just by walking into a room. In the strapless black lacy dress she was wearing right now? She just might cause another one tonight. 

“What’s the policy on hitting on people we live with?” Doreen asked. Jo raised a brow as she looked at the woman, because she was dating someone that she lived with. Well, they shared a bedroom now, but they started out as roommates. Doreen just laughed again, and it was good to see the mutant so carefree. Over the past few weeks, Doreen had opened up a little more and started spending time with everyone in the mansion. Yesterday, she walked in on Doreen and Natasha doing yoga in the gym. She left before Natasha could shoot her. 

“Alright, ladies! Tell me I look fabulous!” Sam yelled after the elevator opened. Jo wanted to look for Bruce, but she took a moment to look Sam over first as he did a full spin in the center of the foyer. The gray pants he was wearing fit him just right, and the plain black shirt he was wearing had the first few buttons undone. 

“You clean up okay, Wilson,” Natasha said. It was counteracted by Darcy, Skye, and Illyana wolf whistling at him. Jo grinned at the display as she looked past Sam, and she quickly cataloged everyone else. 

Steve was in dark blue slacks and a plain gray shirt, with a blue leather jacket, and he kept shifting from foot to foot. Thor was just in black slacks and a white v-neck shirt, and his hair was pulled back in a bun. Loki was in dark green slacks and a black button up, and he looked bored as he stood next to Thor. On Thor’s other side, Clint was bouncing lightly on his feet. Dark jeans and an untucked dark blue button-up; her favorite dance partner went casual. She caught Tony’s eyes next and smiled as she realized he was the only one of the guys that actually dressed up. Black slacks, black jacket, and a bright blue shirt. (She couldn’t see the light of the arc reactor through his shirt.) Tony was already moving towards Pepper, and Jo rocked up onto her toes since she was wearing flats to look for Bruce. _There_. 

“You look…” Jo raised a brow as Bruce stopped in front of her, and she ran her palms over his chest until she was lightly holding his shoulders under the black jacket he was wearing. “…beautiful.”

“You look pretty good yourself, Doc,” she said and ducked forward to give him a quick kiss. He was wearing dark jeans (that Clint made him wear, she could hear him thinking) and a light gray shirt under his black suit jacket. 

“The car is here,” JARVIS announced. Jo could hear some of the girls whooping followed by the sound of heels on the floor, and she let go of Bruce’s shoulders so that she could grab his hand instead. 

“Ready?” she asked him. Bruce smiled and nodded, and Jo pressed herself against his side as they all started out the front door. Here’s hoping that tonight didn’t end with anyone in jail.

**BRUCE**

“This is terrifying.” Tony laughed next to him, and Pepper hummed on his other side because she was drinking a bottle of water.

“Where’s your sense of adventure?” Tony asked. Tony got them a secured VIP area on the second floor of the nightclub, and the three of them were standing at a railing and overlooking the dance floor below. Everyone else from the house was dancing. 

“Jo is the adventurous one in our relationship.” Bruce smiled when Tony clapped his upper arm and then slung his arm around his shoulders, and Pepper sighed quietly after finishing her water. 

“Our girl does know how to get down. Her and birdboy are show-offs,” Tony said. When Bruce glanced over, the other man was smiling as he looked downwards. Jo and Clint were in the middle of the dance floor, and Bruce didn’t even know people could move quite like that. The two of them were getting plenty of attention, but so were their other housemates. 

Loki was surrounded by Darcy, Skye, and Illyana. The three younger women were dancing around the god in a circle, but the god was taking it in stride. (Bruce wasn’t worried about Loki; Hulk was stronger than him, and Jo liked him.) Doreen was leading Thor in a waltz, and Bruce could actually hear Thor’s laugh over the sound of the music. Maria and Natasha were having a dance-off with Sam and Steve, and Bruce couldn’t tell who’s winning. There were plenty of other people in the nightclub, the whole building was packed with moving bodies, but people still stopped to watch the antics of his housemates. Bruce didn’t think any of them had been recognized though. 

“I think it’s good they’re having fun,” Pepper said and leaned on the railing next to Bruce. Tony started to say something, but he was interrupted before he could get a single word out. 

“Brucie Baby!” The voice was overly deep, but Bruce still recognized it. He turned around slowly, saw Tony and Pepper doing the same, and looked across the VIP area. 

“Is that?” Tony asked quietly. Bruce hummed as he nodded, but he didn’t look away from the newcomer. 

“Wade! What brings you here?” Bruce asked. That was definitely Deadpool, in his usual red leather suit, but he was wearing a three-piece suit over the leather. Bright red slacks, bright red buttoned-up jacket, white shirt underneath, and a black tie. 

“Like I’d miss dance night! C’mon, Jolly Green! Let’s go cut a rug!” Bruce braced himself as Deadpool suddenly charged, and arms locked around him as he was tackled over the edge of the railing. He could hear a few people screaming in alarm, but Deadpool managed to flip them so that he landed on his feet. Deadpool landed on his feet; Bruce was being held above Deadpool’s head with the mercenary’s hands locked just above his hips. 

“Dirty dancing?! Is that a challenge?!” Clint yelled. 

“You okay?” Jo asked him quietly. He could see her and Clint standing next to him, paused mid-dip, and dark eyes carefully watched him as Deadpool lowered him to the ground. 

_“Just enjoying a dance with your Uncle Wade,”_ he thought back. 

“I’mma wipe the floor with you, Clinton!” Deadpool yelled and moved Bruce into position. 

“Tango-off it is!” Clint yelled back. Bruce could hear Jo laughing as Deadpool took the lead in their tango, and Bruce decided to move along.

**TONY**

“You sure you don’t want to go back down there?” he asked Pepper. It’d been a couple of hours since Deadpool’s sudden appearance, and he and Pepper were the only ones in the VIP area again. All of the others were still down below and dancing the night away.

“I’m sure, Tony. I’m used to stuffy fundraisers, and no one at those dances quite like this,” Pepper said with a quiet laugh. Her heels were on a table behind them, and she had one arm looped around his so that she could rest her head on his shoulder. 

“It’s like living with children,” Tony agreed. It was almost hard to keep track of them all; they kept switching dance partners after every couple of lines from the pulsing music. So none of them had a set dance partner at this point. 

“It’s nice seeing them all so carefree. I think we needed this. All of us.” Things in the house had slowly started to ease into some sense of normalcy; everyone was used to walking into a room and seeing Loki now, and they’d all been working on their separate issues. It was subtle, but he thought they were becoming stronger. They were definitely becoming closer. 

The music shifted into something slower, and Tony pressed his temple against the top of Pepper’s head as he watched the people he lived with separate into dancing pairs. Natasha claimed the birthday boy first, and Tony could see Sam grinning as he held the assassin close. Illyana was dancing with Deadpool, and the strange mercenary was letting the much smaller girl lead. Maria was leading Steve next to them, and both of them were smiling as Maria told Steve how to move. Doreen’s bare feet were braced on top of the boots that Thor was wearing, and they were moving in slow circles. Next to them, Skye and Loki were dancing with their backs straight and chins up. Darcy was dancing with her head on Clint’s shoulder, and Tony felt his eyes narrow for just a moment. Some part of him was very protective over Darcy and Skye, so he was going to keep a close eye on Loki and Clint. He saw Jo and Bruce last, and the two of them swayed easily together. 

_“C’mon, boss. I know you’ve got one more dance in you.”_ He saw the edge of Jo’s smile before Bruce turned them, and he felt his own smile as he quickly turned and caught Pepper in his arms. Her laugh was soft and caused some fallen hair to brush her cheeks, and Tony tightened his arms around Pepper’s waist as they began to move. 

_“I’m doing this because I want to,”_ Tony thought for Jo to hear. He could feel amusement before the connection between them closed, and Tony pressed his smile against the top of Pepper’s head.

**JO**

“Best. Night. Ever!” Darcy and Skye yelled in unison as they walked into the mansion. The two girls were leaning against each other as they giggled, and Thor was walking behind them just in case one of them fell over. Behind the three of them, Loki was carrying a sleeping Illyana and Clint was carrying a nearly asleep Doreen.

“It was fun,” Maria said quietly. Steve’s blue leather jacket was draped over her bare shoulders, and he was carrying Maria’s heels. 

“It’s too bad Deadpool took off. Dude might be crazy, but he can dance,” Sam said. That made Jo smile, because she really did love her Uncle Wade. Even if he was crazy. 

“Let’s just be thankful he didn’t get us arrested,” Natasha said. She had one arm looped through Sam’s, and the two of them were swaying as they walked to the elevator. Jo hung back as the elevator filled up, and she felt heat along her back. 

“Go ahead. We’ll go up next,” Tony said over her head. The elevator doors closed, and Jo leaned back against Tony as his arms went around her waist. 

“There are way too many people in this house,” she said sleepily as Bruce stepped up next to her. Pepper was standing on his other side, and their arms were laced so that Pepper could lean her head against Bruce’s chest. The woman looked half asleep, so it looked like Bruce was the only thing holding her up. 

“I’m working on it,” Tony mumbled and dropped his cheek on top of her head. Bruce hummed, so the two of them were probably up to something. Jo would question them later. The elevator doors opened again, and Tony walked the two of them inside. Bruce was holding Pepper in his arms now, and Pepper’s loose hair brushed Jo’s arm as the elevator started upwards. 

“He’s very warm,” Pepper said quietly. Definitely more asleep than awake. Jo heard herself giggle as she slumped back against Tony, and she reached over to run her fingers through Pepper’s unbound hair. 

“Yeah, Bruce runs a little hotter than average. He’s toasty warm,” Jo said as Tony snorted a laugh behind her. The elevator doors opened again, and she stumbled out with Tony’s arms still wrapped securely around her waist. The door to Darcy and Skye’s room was closed, and the floor was quiet. The four of them paused in the center of the living room, and Jo had to force her eyes to open. 

“Trade?” Tony asked. 

“Trade,” Bruce agreed. Jo felt like she was floating in open space when Tony let her go, and she watched as Pepper was moved from Bruce’s arms to Tony’s. Bruce swept her up before she could fall back, and she wrapped her arms around his neck with a quiet sigh. 

“Night, Tony, Pepper. Love you,” Jo said as she nuzzled against Bruce’s chest. 

“Love you too, sweetheart!” Tony called out as he walked towards his room. 

“Love!” Pepper was able to get out before their bedroom door closed. Jo’s eyes closed as Bruce carried her into their room, and she swayed again once she was set on her feet. Together, her and Bruce were able to peel her dress off. The tee shirt she slept in the night before was at the foot of the bed, so she tugged that on before collapsing against the mattress. She wanted to close her eyes and sleep, but she forced her eyes to stay open so that she could watch Bruce undress. 

“Tonight was not what I expected,” Bruce said once his shirt was off. 

“Oh?” she asked as he popped the button on his jeans. She might have felt dead tired, but she was never too tired to watch Bruce get naked. 

“No one was arrested,” he clarified. Jo couldn’t help the loud laugh that came out of her, but she did manage to keep her eyes open as Bruce slipped on a pair of Hulk shorts. In all honesty, she was surprised that no one got arrested as well. Statistically speaking, they had to have at least one good night, right? Then again, she was sure the cops would’ve showed up if the night out had been Clint’s idea. 

“There’s always next time,” she said as Bruce slipped under the sheets to join her. Jo immediately moved over and plastered herself against him, and Bruce’s arms wrapped around her to tug her that much closer. “Hey, Bruce?”

“Hmm?” JARVIS turned the lights off for them, because JARVIS was amazing, and Jo felt herself slipping even closer towards sleep. 

“I’d like to schedule some morning sex.” Her body rocked as Bruce laughed quietly, and she reached up so that she could bury one hand in his curls. 

“I’ll pencil you in.” Jo had a comeback, but she fell asleep before she could get it out.

**October 26, 2014**

**ILLYANA**

“You are alright, _младшая сестра_?” Blue eyes rolled, even though she knew her big brother could see, and she slumped back against her headboard. Even though she got plenty of sleep, she still felt a little sore from her fun night of dancing.

“Jo takes her bodyguard duties very seriously,” Illyana answered and looked down at her wiggling toes. 

“Has there been any progress?” Peter asked her. She’d been living at Avengers Mansion for over a month now, way longer than she planned on, but she liked it here. It was different from the school, mostly because there weren’t a bunch of kids running around everywhere. 

“None yet, but Tony seems determined.” She knew that there was a program that was constantly running to look for her mentor, and Tony assured her every day that he wasn’t giving up. He kept telling her that people didn’t just disappear, and most of the time she didn’t even remind him that she could completely disappear without a trace. 

“You should come home. Stark can call if there are any developments.”

“Nonsense! You’re perfectly safe there, right, Illyana?” Kitty asked as she came into view. She was bouncing little Evan in her arms and glaring over at her husband; Illyana loved that Kitty was usually on her side, because Peter had always been the overprotective type. 

“Right. And I like it here, Peter. Loki’s even been helping me some,” she shrugged. She got that the god did some really horrible things, but she’d listened in on enough conversations to figure out that he didn’t have much of a choice. Well, maybe he did, but he went with his best option. He had a dry sense of humor and hardly ever gave her a straight answer to her questions, but he had been helping her with her astral projection. 

“They are older than you and invite danger.” Illyana resisted the urge to roll her eyes again, because she could hear the worry in Peter’s voice. Yeah, the Avengers lived here. They’d gone out a couple of times to round up some of those escaped prisoners, but the fights were over quickly and without any major bloodshed. 

“They’re a family, and I like spending time with them.” When she wasn’t bugging Loki for help, she spent most of her time with either Skye (and Tony by extension) or Clint. Skye liked to talk while she hacked, and her and Clint were working their way through everything in the arcade.

“Take care of yourself, Illyana,” Peter said quietly. That was his way of saying that he’d back off, for now. 

“And tell Jo and Logan we said hey!” Kitty added before the call disconnected. Illyana fell sideways onto her bed and pulled her legs up; she was gonna get some more sleep before trying to face anyone.

**JO**

“Hmm? Wassit?” she mumbled and carefully started to stretch. She could feel Bruce pressed along her back, because she was on her side, and she rubbed her cheek against her pillow. The sound of her alarm continued to go off, and she growled quietly as she fought to get her arm free of the sheets. Once her arm was free, she slammed her fist down against her alarm clock. Since the clock was made by Tony after she broke her fifth alarm clock in so many weeks, it didn’t break as she hit the snooze button. Her fingers scrambled against the durable little thing so that she could switch it completely off, because she wasn’t doing this all over again in a few minutes.

“Time to get up?” Bruce mumbled behind her. There was a good chance that someone was downstairs and working on breakfast, so they really should start trying to wake up. Then again, there was an alternative. 

“Not yet,” she said and twisted around. Bruce slowly opened his eyes, and she loved the way his smile slowly formed as their eyes met. Her fingers instantly moved up into his hair, and she could feel one hand slowly tracing along her spine under the tee shirt she was wearing. 

“Not yet?” Bruce asked. She leaned up so that she could run her nose along Bruce’s jawline and then nipped at the stubbled skin. 

“I seem to recall an appointment that we both carefully made before passing out,” she whispered against his ear. Bruce easily moved onto his back as she slid over to cover him, and she took a moment to enjoy the heat of his skin before getting her knees under her and sitting up. Hands rose up to grip her hips, loosely, and she reached up with one hand to pull her shirt off.

They had to work together to pull off his shorts and her panties, and Jo would have tumbled off the side of the bed if Bruce hadn’t been holding onto her hips. They were still laughing when Jo shifted and rocked her hips down, and Jo’s laugh was stopped by a quiet sigh as Bruce slipped inside of her. This was her favorite way to start the day. With slow rolls of her hips and the slight flexing of her thighs while Bruce’s hands mapped out every inch of her skin. One hand tightly gripped her thigh, and Bruce’s other hand brushed her lower stomach before dipping lower so that he could press precise circles against her. Jo tightened her hold on his knees as a quiet cry was ripped out of her throat, and she was still shaking when Bruce wrapped an arm around her waist and flipped her onto her back. 

“Good?” She reached up to grab handfuls of his hair as she arched up into him, and her heels dug down against the mattress as she thrust her hips up. It was her way of showing him that she was more than good; she was feeling so good that she couldn’t even form words, and she bit down on Bruce’s shoulder when his next thrust rocked the bed. The pace they set was faster and harder than earlier, but it was still perfect. They pulled at each other as Bruce moved against her, and Jo actually screamed when Bruce grabbed one of her legs and pulled it over his shoulder. It was a good thing she was so flexible. 

Jo dug her heel down against Bruce’s shoulder as her second orgasm rolled through her, and she went completely boneless as Bruce kept moving against her. Her body was still shaking with the aftershocks when Bruce groaned against the sweat slick skin of her neck, and he twisted to kiss her ankle before letting her leg fall back down to the mattress. Jo was quick to wrap her arms around his shoulders to hold him against her, for just a little bit longer, and he fell against her with his head pillowed on her chest. 

Definitely the best way to start the day.

**SKYE**

“I’m going to get some fresh air!” she called out into the lab. The music lowered, barely, and Tony’s head popped out from behind a table.

“Need an escort?” Things in the house had calmed down, they’d all settled into habits and routines, but Tony still didn’t like for most of them to leave the house on their own. 

“I’m just gonna get some fresh air and a smoothie. Want anything?” Normally she’d ask Darcy, Illyana, or Jo to come with her. Darcy was out shopping with Doreen because Doreen said she needed some winter clothes, Illyana and Clint had been locked in the arcade since lunch a couple of hours ago, and Jo followed Bruce up to his lab so there was no way that Skye was going to go interrupt them. 

“Pineapple smoothie?” Tony fluttered his lashes at her, and it might have been endearing if his whole body wasn’t streaked in grease. Jo was gonna have fun scrubbing his hair tonight, and Skye really hoped that Pepper wasn’t kidding about buying him some cotton-candy conditioner. 

“You got it. Be back soon!” Tony yelled out a goodbye as she walked out of the lab, and she took in a slow breath once she was in the elevator. She was dressed in a pair of black skinny jeans and a thin purple sweater, she was even wearing her favorite pair of black boots, so she was good to go.

It was only a little after three, so the sun was still shining and there were still people everywhere. She walked past her and Jo’s usual smoothie stop, because the older mutant still went running with her every morning, and the crowd thinned a little as she got closer to her destination. She caught sight of wide shoulders and a blue baseball cap, and she grinned a little to herself as she walked up to the bench. It didn’t happen often, but she ran into her mysterious stranger every once in a while. There was no pattern to when their paths crossed, but Skye always felt a little better after one of their meetings. She still hadn’t seen his face or anything like that, but she thought of them as friends. 

“You’re humming. Good day?” her stranger asked after she was sitting next to him. His backpack was strapped to him, but she couldn’t see his notebook. 

“Kinda average, actually, but last night was amazing!” The stranger kept his face angled away from her as she talked about the Avengers, plus a few others, dancing the previous night. He laughed quietly every once in a while, a rough sound like he didn’t laugh very often, and Skye’s arms waved wildly through the air as she described some of the more outlandish dance moves. When she was done speaking, she fell back against the bench and took a few measured breaths. 

“Sounds like you’re not scared of getting too close anymore,” he said once it was clear she was done talking. She made a sound close to a snort and crossed her arms. 

“No, I’m still terrified of losing everyone that I’m getting close to. I just decided to enjoy however much time I get with them and to stop planning escape routes,” she said with a small laugh. 

She actually had Sam to thank for that decision. She realized that every time she felt like running away was after she had a “bonding moment” with someone in the house. Like the first time Tony jokingly said that she was the favorite at dinner; the comment made Darcy squawk while Jo assured her that Darcy was still _her_ favorite, and Skye had laughed along until it hit her later that Tony was a tiny bit serious. Not about liking her more than Darcy, he loved them evenly as he promised after Darcy pouted at the dinner table, but he was serious about loving her. Caring about her. It freaked her out, because she loved him too. Looked up to him and everything. Which was when she got the urge to run away. And that was just one example. She had a notebook of her own filled with several more, but she was getting better.

“Good. That’s…good,” the stranger said quietly. Whenever they met up, he never really talked. Not about himself or anyone else in his life; he normally asked Skye questions and then listened to her ramble. “So you’re happy?”

“Huh?” She’d been staring at his chin, which was about the only part of his face that she could see, so she missed the question. 

“Are you happy?” She woke up this morning to Darcy bouncing on her bed and yelling about pancakes; Jo went running with her after breakfast; Logan let Darcy and her pull him into the theater to watch Disney movies; Jo made her and Tony homemade pizza rolls for lunch; she’d get to have a loud and crazy dinner with a bunch of superheroes later. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m happy. Are you?” She watched the stranger’s body expand and deflate as he sighed, and he looked up at the sky after turning his face completely away from her. 

“You should head back before it gets too late,” he said instead. The answer made her feel a little sad, because she liked the stranger, but she wasn’t going to force the issue. Something told her that if she ever pushed too hard, he’d disappear on her. 

“Feel like walking me?” she asked as she got to her feet. His fingers flexed against the hold he had on his knees, and she knew his answer before he said anything. He wasn’t going with her. 

“Not today. See you next time.” He was on his feet and walking away before she could come up with something, anything, to say. She watched his back for a moment, but he soon melted into the crowd and disappeared. 

“See ya.”

**JO**

She eased down her knitting needles and rubbed her fists against her eyes. She was sitting on the couch on her balcony, and the soft light spilling out of the open doorway from her bedroom was all the light she had to help her knit. She came up here after dinner, she’d have to drag Tony out of the lab in about an hour and wash his grease-caked hair, but she wanted to finish her knitting before Christmas. She was working on a sweater for Pepper tonight. Green eyes flicked to the side and down a little, and she felt her stomach clench with heat and erupt with Hulk-sized butterflies. Since her legs and knitting equipment took up the whole of the couch, Bruce pulled out her yoga mat and some spare blankets so that he could sit on the floor of the balcony. He was working on a tablet instead of locking himself away in his lab tonight, and she could hear him humming quietly as he worked. Sounded like the last song they danced to last night, the slow one. His back was propped up against the balcony railing so that he was facing her, and the tablet was highlighting his strong features and the little bit of gray in his hair at his temples. Bruce looked so at ease, so at peace, and Jo could hear Hulk quietly snoring in the back of his mind.

“I love you.” The words just popped out, without permission, and Jo felt her eyes widening as Bruce slowly lifted his head to look at her. His glasses had slipped down to the end of his nose, and his brown eyes looked a little darker than usual as he looked up at her. 

“What?” Bruce looked just as shocked as she felt, because neither one of them had dropped the L-word yet. 

“Sorry, it’s just…you’re so, and I’m, we…I love you. I really love you.”

“Since when?” Jo was starting to think that Bruce was in shock, which was not good. He was their medic, so who did she call if something happened to him?

“I don’t know? Since you let me cover your nipples in chocolate syrup? Or maybe it was when you withheld shower sex until I cleaned the drain? Or that night you hummed for me because I couldn’t get to sleep after another nightmare? Or when you pulled my chair out on our first date? Or when I was laying on a table covered in bullet holes?” She knew that they’d only officially been together for a little over two months, but she also knew that she loved Bruce Banner. 

“Covered in bullet holes? When we first met?” He was definitely in shock, and Jo was starting to feel a little lightheaded herself. Maybe she should try breathing?

“I was all hazy from the healing and blood loss, but you looked so adorable when you were all confused. You were wearing this faded blue shirt, I think it was the one I ripped that day Betty visited, and your hair was sticking up all over the place. I don’t know when it happened, it just did. I love you, Bruce Banner.” Thor help her, because she meant it. Maybe for the first time in her life.

“More than Thor’s pancakes?” He smiled as he moved over towards her, and Jo narrowed her eyes as he stayed kneeling in front of the couch. Smiling was a good sign though. 

“Don’t push it.” She tapped the end of his nose before pulling his glasses off, and she carefully placed them with her abandoned knitting equipment. Then she reached up to bury her fingers in his unruly curls, because she could never resist playing with Bruce’s hair.

“I—”

“I’m not expecting you to say it back. You can say it when it feels right to you.” Bruce grabbed her arms right above her elbows to gently pull her down, and she felt his smile curl against her lips. She kept her eyes closed as he pulled back, because he didn’t go far. His forehead pressed tight against hers, and she flexed her fingers in his hair. 

“I wanna show you something. Can you see?” Bruce’s door was wide open, so she kept her eyes closed as she focused. Thoughts were getting easier to hear, but seeing? That still took a lot of concentration. 

_“Do you love her?” That was Logan’s voice…in the den. Jo could see the den, but Logan and Bruce were the only ones there. It was the night that she finished creating the mental links; the night they found out Coulson was alive, and she cleared the new SHIELD._

_“I don’t know. We know everything about each other, good and bad, and she’s still the first thing I want to see in the morning. The last thing I want to see at night. She loves Hulk.” She could hear Logan’s familiar huff, a deep growling sound, and this…this was right before Bruce came to get her from Maria’s room._

_“And Hulk loves her?” Bruce nodded, and Logan continued. “How can one side of you love her, and the other side not know?”_

_“I don’t know.”_

_“I do. Hulk is instinctual, and you think too much. Love isn’t logical, Banner. It just is. Try to keep that in mind.”_

Jo groaned against the slight pressure on her mind as the den faded, and she could taste Bruce when she licked her lips. She wanted to ask what that meant, why he wanted to show her that, but Bruce shushed her before showing her another memory. No, not another memory, just a continuation. Same night. The same night over a month ago. 

_Jo was stripped down to just a tee shirt and a pair of panties, and she was fast asleep against the sheets. She could see herself mumbling, and she watched as she made grabby hands towards Bruce. Once he was stripped down, he joined her in the bed. Jo was a little amused as she watched herself immediately curl around him, despite being dead asleep, and Bruce rested his cheek on top of her head._

_“I love you.” Bruce said the words so easily, like he’d been saying them since he learned how to speak, and Jo felt her breath stutter in her chest._

_“Love you too, Brucie baby.”_

“I! You! But that was forever ago!” she yelled as she pulled back. Bruce was still smiling up at her, and she still had her hands buried in his hair. “Why didn’t you say anything after I woke up?”

“Because I needed to know that you meant it,” he said quietly. She knew Bruce, knew everything about him, so that made sense. Some part of him would always be prepared for rejection, for fear and doubt, and she was going to do her best to prove that part of him wrong. She tightened her fingers and ducked down for a quick kiss.

“I love you, Bruce,” she said against his lips. She could feel Bruce smile, and hands reached up to gently cup her face. 

“I love you too, Jo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter was mostly serious, so I decided to have some fun with this chapter. I hope everyone enjoyed it! I definitely had fun writing it, and I can't pick a favorite scene because I love them all. The next chapter is going to have some serious stuff in it, but it's going to mostly be a fun chapter too. Enjoy these fun chapters while you can, because I'll be moving the plot along soon!
> 
> (The song used at the top was on the Top 100 list in October 2014, so I couldn't resist using it. Just imagine the whole house on a dance floor singing it to Natasha.)


	47. We Did Good

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
> _this is halloween_  
>  _everybody scream_  
>  _won't ya please make way_  
>  _for a very special guy_  
>  **This Is Halloween from The Nightmare Before Christmas**  
> 

**October 31, 2014**

**TONY**

“I stand by my statement. This is unfair,” he said and crossed his arms. Pepper smoothed down his shirt while Jo snorted somewhere behind him, and he craned his neck so that he could glare at his bodyguard. His very well-dressed bodyguard. The dark blue dress she was wearing matched his own button-up shirt, and she looked like any other high society woman. The dress itself brushed the ground, but there was a slit in the side so that he could just make out the tan length of her right leg. The top part of the dress, just above her cleavage and extending to her shoulders, was sheer but beaded. Her strong arms were left bare though.

“I dunno, boss, I think this is justice. You do skip out on a lot of business stuff, and this is for the kids!” Jo said and grinned. She wouldn’t be grinning if she knew what they were in for tonight. 

“Oh, Jo, let me grab you some earrings,” Pepper said and darted into the bathroom. She was dressed as Raggedy Ann, and the skirt of her dress was showing a lot of leg. Tony sighed as Pepper disappeared from view, and he could hear Jo giggling right before she stepped up beside him. 

“What’s got you all riled up, huh? It’s just dudes in suits and ladies in dresses. Look at this thing, Tony.” She paused long enough for him to sweep his eyes over her and then continued speaking. “I’d have to destroy this thing to fight in it, so I think it’s safe to say that tonight will be violence-free. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Have you ever been to a fundraiser hosted by rich narcissistic assholes?” He realized he was basically describing himself, but he was a _little_ better than the people they were going to be around tonight. He was sure of it. 

“No, but you promised Pepper that you’d take the next big outing. And I, as your bodyguard and best friend, am going to suffer beside you as your date. Instead of ogling my shirtless boyfriend.” Jo ended her sentence with a pout, and he heard Pepper make a loud a-ha! sound from the bathroom.

“I thought Hulk was going to the kids’ thing?” Since Halloween was on a Friday this year, Maria (and Pepper) set up a mixer for the Avengers and all the kids that were going to be out trick-or-treating. While they were gone, a few of the girls were going to stay behind to sit at the front gate and hand out candy. Darcy, Skye, Doreen, and Illyana were mostly using it as an excuse to dress up and eat candy. Tony and Jo, however, were going to a fundraiser hosted by Stark Industries. The fundraiser was for better science equipment in schools, so the cause was worthy, but the people that were going to be at the fundraiser were going to be the usual power-hungry greedy bunch that Tony normally tried to avoid. Logan and Loki, the lucky bastards, were staying in the Mansion. 

“Hulk is, but Bruce is still going to be shirtless. Ain’t that right, Brucie baby?!” Jo called out. Bruce stuck just his head in the door, but Tony could see bare shoulders. 

“It’s easier than remembering to carry extra clothes,” Bruce explained before he eased the rest of himself inside. He was only wearing a pair of dark gray Hulk shorts, and Tony (fondly) rolled his eyes as Jo openly stared. 

“I’ve got them!” Pepper said as she moved in front of Jo. Pepper put the diamond earrings in for her, and Tony shared a look with his fellow scientist. 

“I wouldn’t mind trading places with you,” Bruce said quietly as the two women talked. 

“Then trade with me,” Tony said and shifted his face in a pleading smile. 

“I don’t think I can trick anyone into thinking I’m Tony Stark.” Bruce said it with a quiet laugh, and Tony felt eyes on him. 

“Yeah, boss, you’re one of a kind,” Jo grinned. 

“Play nice,” Pepper whispered as she moved over to him. Tony realized that Bruce was standing in front of Jo, and he gave into the inevitable. He was going to a stuffy fundraiser with Jo while Bruce, Pepper, and the others had fun. 

“I’m always nice.” Pepper smiled before she leaned in to kiss him, and Tony let himself get lost in the moment.

**DOREEN**

“And five snickers for Little Cap!” Doreen said and let her handful of candy fall into the little girl’s bag. The little girl squealed and moved over in front of Darcy, who dropped in several little packets of Skittles.

“The parents of New York City are going to hate us so much,” Skye laughed after the little costumed kids had run off. 

“Why? Because we’re giving them enough sugar to turn them into actual superheroes?” Darcy asked with a laugh of her own. 

“The parents might hate us, but the kids? They’re going to remember the four weird ladies who gave out _all_ of the candy. We’re gonna be legends,” Illyana said and smiled. Doreen was sitting between Illyana and Darcy, and she looked between the two mutants since there weren’t any kids currently in front of them and asking for candy. 

They’d decided to stay behind and sit in front of the Mansion in lawn chairs so they could hand out candy for the little ones, but they’d all been lazy when it came to dressing up. Illyana was wearing a pair of jeans and a black sweater with a yellow cat’s face on it, but there was a witch’s hat sitting crookedly on top of her head. Darcy was also in jeans, and she was wearing a dark red long sleeved shirt with the sleeves pushed up to just under her elbows. A pair of bright red devil horns were sitting on top of her head, and Doreen was pretty sure that the horns were sequined. Skye had put in slightly more effort, but only slightly. Her leggings were white, and the dress she was wearing was also white and seemed to flow around her body. The halo above her head completed the look. As for Doreen? She’d just pulled out her old squirrel ears headband and had her tail draped over her thighs because she was wearing a pair of denim shorts and a tee shirt with a smiling squirrel face on it. 

“Is it bad that I don’t want to go out and party like most young twenty somethings? We’re supposed to go out and party, right?” Darcy asked and looked over at Skye. Skye shrugged, and the halo above her head swayed with the movement. 

“I don’t know about you, but I’m wiped. I’ve been helping Tony build a new suit, and he’s very hands-on. Those suits are heavy as hell,” Skye groaned out. 

“Same! Have you seen Stark Tower?” Darcy paused, and all four of them turned their heads to see the giant tower lit up in the distance. “Yeah, I’ve been running all over that thing for the past week. I just want to take a nap.”

“Loki’s been teaching me how to freeze time,” Illyana threw out. Doreen, Darcy, and Skye all turned to look at her, but Illyana was eating a Snickers and completely ignoring them. 

“That’s so awesome,” Doreen whispered. Awesome and a little terrifying, but mostly awesome. 

“Agreed,” Darcy and Skye said together. Illyana turned towards them with puffed out cheeks and smiled, and Doreen reached over to lightly pat the girl’s shoulder. Because she was a girl. The kid was only nineteen. 

“What about you, Doreen?” Darcy asked. 

“Yeah, what’s your excuse?” Skye added. 

“I’m thirty. I’m too old to party,” she answered and waved a dismissal hand. The three girls sitting around her immediately started yelling, about how she looked too young to be thirty, and Doreen laughed until a new group of little kids started towards them. “Straighten up, ladies! We’ve got a job to do!”

**MARIA**

“I think this is going well,” Pepper said quietly next to her. Maria looked over at the redhead, who was dressed as Raggedy Ann, before looking back at the scene in front of her.

“None of the children are crying, so that’s a plus,” Maria agreed. 

Surprisingly, or maybe-not-so surprisingly, most of the children in the small park where this get together was being hosted were climbing all over Hulk. The big green guy was laughing as costumed kids climbed over him and let him lift them into the air, and parents were continuously taking pictures. Another group of kids were clapping and cheering as Clint danced around while balancing on his hands, and Natasha was meticulously painting tiny little faces to make them look like whatever they wanted. It looked like she was working on a cat at the moment. Thor was in about the same position as Hulk, laughing while children climbed all over him. Sam and Steve were sitting side-by-side with a line of kids sitting in front of them, and it looked like they were all having a very serious conversation while devouring a mountain of snacks. 

“We did good,” Pepper said and smiled over at her. When Pepper first brought this up with the board at Stark Industries, they loved the idea and immediately started thinking of how much to charge. Since Maria was the Avengers liaison, she got to help Pepper shut that down immediately. It was a fun afternoon, and now they got to watch the Avengers have a little fun while entertaining a bunch of little kids. 

“Yeah, we did,” she said as one little girl reached out to touch Steve’s shield with wide eyes. They did good.

**JO**

She was so not prepared for this. High ceilings, marble floors, several chandeliers…all of that was a little out of her comfort zone. The location was hardly the biggest problem though. The biggest problem? The people. She’d gotten used to Tony’s own brand of ego and narcissism, and she knew that he was actually a good human being under all of that. These people? Not so much. She wasn’t reading anyone’s thoughts, because that would be rude, but just picking up their spoken conversations was enough to make her want to hurl. She’d forgotten just how greedy people could be.

“Dance with me, sweetheart,” Tony hissed into her ear. She hadn’t seen him for the past five minutes, but she’d been able to feel pure boredom drifting out of his door so she hadn’t been worried. He grabbed her arm from behind and pulled her out onto the small dance floor, and they easily moved into position. Hands clasped, her hand on his shoulder, and his hand on the small of her back. 

“You were not kidding. These people are the worst,” she whispered as he turned her around. She smiled at a woman with some kind of up-do that included having diamonds dotting her hair, and Tony spun her away before she could gawk at the ridiculousness of it all. 

“I tried to tell you, but what was it you said? Dudes in suits and ladies in dresses? Still thinking that?” Tony was light on his feet, which was something that she already knew, but it was surprisingly fun to dance with him. Not as fun as dancing with Clint, of course, but Tony knew what he was doing. 

“Yeah, but now I’m thinking that’s just window dressing to cover up all the evil,” she answered and pulled back enough to grin at him. Tony’s slick smile turned into a real one, and he laughed a little as he spun her away from him and then pulled her back. 

The song was over before too much longer, which was a shame, and Tony groaned as he realized that he was going to have to mingle some more. Jo tried not to laugh, failed, and then carefully weaved her way through the very nicely dressed people until she could prop her shoulder against a large marble column. She watched as the people in the room smiled obviously fake . smiles and laughed a little too loud, and she wanted to roll her eyes but held back. It wasn’t her place to judge, and she only had to put up with these people for one night. She could totally handle one night. So instead of focusing on the people around her, she lightly knocked on Bruce’s door. 

_“Jo? Is everything okay?”_ Bruce asked immediately. 

_“Yeah, everything’s fine. Fancy parties are just really boring. How’s the thing with the kids going?”_ She knew that Bruce still got a little nervous around people, and he should be surrounded by several little people at the moment. Well, Hulk should be. 

_“Want to see?”_ Bruce sounded a little excited, and Jo felt her mood improving at the obvious sound of happiness in his voice. Seeing was still a little difficult at times, so she closed her eyes as she leaned more of her weight against the column and focused on looking through Bruce’s door instead of just talking through it. 

_She could see Hulk’s legs and arms, because was sitting cross-legged on the ground, and children were crawling all over the big guy. They squealed and laughed as they were lifted into the air, and Hulk was so careful and gentle as he did whatever the kids asked for._

Jo pulled herself out of Bruce’s mind and told herself not to cry, because Hulk had come such a long way. So had Bruce, and she was so proud of the two of them. It took a moment, but she was able to pull herself together and then she slowly opened her eyes. The ballroom looked too bright after being inside of her mind, and it took her a moment to adjust. She was still looking around the room for Tony when she talked to Bruce again. 

_“I’m glad the two of you are having fun. Tell me all about it when we get home?”_ she asked as she caught sight of Tony’s hair. It was a little strange to see it gelled with every little hair in its place. She was actually missing the grease and mad scientist look. 

_“Of course. How’s Tony?”_ The woman standing in front of Tony was wearing a strapless dress that showed off a lot of cleavage, and she kept reaching out to touch his arm. 

_“Pretty sure he’s being hit on. Think I should go save him?”_ She felt Bruce’s amusement, and she let the warm feeling fill her up. Until the woman tried to push a glass into Tony’s hand, after Tony clearly shook his head in the negative. _“Raincheck, Brucie. Gotta go put a socialite in her place.”_

_“Please, try not to get arrested.”_ Bruce still felt amused, so Jo let her own amusement at the statement drift to him before closing his door. Then she was striding across the ballroom until she was at Tony’s side, and she smoothly looped her arm through his and tilted her head to smile up at him. 

“There you are! I have been looking all over for you!” Tony turned to look at her with wide eyes, and she could see the young woman glaring up at her from the corner of her eye. “You promised me another dance.”

“I did?” Jo raised a brow, and Tony’s widened eyes returned to their normal size. “I did! Please, excuse us, Jennifer.”

“It’s Jenna!” the woman called out as Tony pulled her back towards the dance floor. Jo couldn’t seem to help her laughter, so she pressed the bottom half of her face against Tony’s shoulder as he led them in a waltz. 

“Thanks for the save,” he whispered against her ear. Jo pulled herself together, barely, and straightened back up. 

“Anytime, boss.”

**SKYE**

“Okay, I think that’s the last of them. Isn’t there a curfew on trick-or-treating?” Darcy asked as three little kids scurried off with their parents right behind them. It was a little before eight, but kids were encouraged to get their trick-or-treating done early. Mostly for safety.

“Yeah, that’s the end of it. I think I’m going to go up for a very long nap. One that lasts until breakfast tomorrow,” Doreen groaned and slowly got out of her lawn chair. 

“I second that,” Illyana said and moved right after her. Skye looked next to her, and Darcy’s blue eyes met hers as she started to get out of her own chair. 

“Everything okay?” Darcy asked, since Skye still hadn’t moved. 

“I’m good. I think I’m just going to go for a walk. Try to walk off the sugar rush, you know?” she asked as she finally scrambled out of her chair. “Carry this up for me?”

“You’re lucky I love you,” Darcy grumbled and took the folded chair. Saying stuff like that was still new for them, but they were trying to say it more. Trying to make it a normal thing. 

“Oh, please, you know you love me. I’ll be back soon,” Skye promised. Darcy looked a little worried, but Doreen hooked an arm around her neck and started pulling her back towards the Mansion. 

“Be back in an hour, or we’ll send out Logan!” Doreen called out before the gate closed behind them. Skye listened as Illyana and Doreen both cackled while Darcy tried to defend their grandfather, but he really was a growly and intimidating guy. Until you realized that he was a big ball of fluff under all of that growling and intimidation. 

Skye shook her head a little as she started walking, and she smiled as she passed families clearly on their way home. Clearly, because the kids looked tired and the parents were carrying Halloween bags filled with candy. The streets never really got empty, but there were less people the farther out that she walked. When she reached her destination, she sighed a little as she realized that the bench was empty. It was silly to assume her stranger would be at their bench on Halloween night, but she’d been hoping that he’d be there just a little. She still walked over to the bench and carefully lowered herself down, because she really was tired from working in the lab for the past week, and she closed her eyes as she let her head fall back over the back of the bench. 

“Is that a halo?” She might have screamed a little at the sudden voice, just a little, and her wide eyes looked all around her as she suddenly straightened up. The deep laugh was coming from behind her, so she twisted around and glared up at the shadowed stranger’s face. 

“Not cool, dude!” she yelled and pointed a finger up at him. He raised his hands, like he was placating her, as he moved around to sit on the other end of the bench. Then what he’d asked her registered. “And yes, it is a halo. Me and some friends dressed up and handed out candy to kids.”

“That counts as a costume?” Well, he sounded more playful than usual tonight. She turned on the bench and lightly nudged his thigh with her toes, because she was wearing leggings under her dress. 

“It totally counts. Come on, I make an awesome angel. Just admit it.” His head was tilted towards her, but she still couldn’t see his face. It was so frustrating! Did he have some kind of grotesque scar that he was trying to hide from her? Because she wasn’t shallow. She wouldn’t care if he had a scar or something like that. She just wanted to put a face to the voice. And the body. 

“You don’t have any wings,” he pointed out. She’d actually thought about getting wings, but that just seemed like too much trouble. 

“Mere mortals can’t see them,” she quipped. He laughed again, another deep sound, and Skye felt her toes curling in her shoes. She must be even more exhausted than she realized if she thought her stranger’s laugh sounded good enough to make her toes curl. “Oh, wow, I really need to get some sleep.”

“You okay?” All traces of a laugh were gone from his voice, and Skye tried to focus on him but everything was kind of swirly. Looked like she was finally crashing from all the sugar she’d consumed. 

“Yeah, I’m good. Just tired. I didn’t sleep last night, or the night before, and now I think I’m going through a sugar crash? I dunno, dude, I’m just super tired,” she rambled out. Her mind felt a little fuzzy, because she had been working overtime. Helping Tony with a suit during the day and hacking through the night. Maybe she was burning herself out a little. 

“No, you can’t nap here. Hey!” She was sliding down the bench so that she could lay her head down, and she could hear her stranger moving around. She was completely stretched out along the bench but couldn’t feel him, so he must have stood up. “Come on, you need to get up.”

“Mmm, fifteen minutes. Just need to,” she paused to yawn wide enough to make her jaw crack a little before continuing, “recharge a little.”

“What am I gonna do with you?” her stranger asked. She hoped that was rhetorical, because she was too sleepy to really come up with a coherent answer. She was just about to slip into a good nap when she felt hands on her, and she struggled to open her eyes and lift her head. 

One arm locked under her knees, and the other wiggled between her back and the bench. She made a quiet sound as she was suddenly lifted into the air, and she curled her arms between her body and his as she turned to press her face against his chest. It sounded like he chuckled a little before he started walking, but she couldn’t get over how warm he was. It just made her that much sleepier, which was a shame because she wanted to remember this. Her stranger held her carefully, gently, as he briskly walked down the streets. She knew he was walking briskly too because the slight wind stirred her hair and made her shiver, which made her curl in closer to her stranger. She let one eye peek open, and she sleepily looked up at her stranger. 

Even in her sleepy state, she felt frustration when she realized that she still couldn’t see the majority of his face. She could see the bottom half though. The strong lines of his jaw, the stubble on his chin and cheeks, and a pair of full lips. If he had a grotesque scar or something, it was on the upper part of his face. The bottom half of his face though…the bottom half looked nice. She was still looking at the curve of his bottom lip when he came to a stop, and she groaned as her eyes closed and she pushed her forehead against his chest. If they were stopping, that meant they were back at the Mansion. Or at least close to it. 

“You couldn’t have walked a little slower?” Her stranger laughed quietly, so quiet that she barely heard it even though he was holding her in his arms, and he slowly shifted her around until her feet were on the ground. She swayed a little on her feet, and one hand lightly gripped her shoulder to keep her steady. That same arm turned her around so that she was facing the Mansion’s gate, and he gave her a slight push to get her started in that direction. 

“Goodnight, Skye.”

“Night, stranger,” she mumbled before the gate closed behind her. 

Her feet drug across the ground as she walked towards the Mansion and then up the front stairs, and it took her two tries to get her thumb on the right place to get the door to open. JARVIS welcomed her back and was even kind enough to open the elevator doors for her, and she slumped against the back wall as the elevator immediately started moving up towards the sixth floor. JARVIS called her name as the doors opened, and she thanked him for being so awesome as she shuffled off the elevator and started towards her room. The door was cracked open, but the lights were off. The lights from the living room showed Darcy fast asleep in her bed, and Skye smiled as she closed the door and walked over to her own bed using her memory.

She collapsed against the unmade bed without changing, and she kicked her legs to get her flats off. Once her feet were bare, she wiggled farther up the bed until her head was on a pillow. Then it took some maneuvering and cursing, but she managed to pull a blanket up over her. She wasn’t really sure what happened to her sheet. Maybe it was kicked to the end of the bed, or maybe it was on the floor somewhere. She’d figure it out tomorrow. She pulled her knees up as she rocked onto her side and cuddled into the blanket, and she thought of the way she felt in her stranger’s arm. Safe. She felt safe in the Mansion, she didn’t feel threatened by anyone or anything like that, but there was something about the dude that just made her feel better. 

Whatever, she’d think on it some more later. Or never. Never worked too. She didn’t really want to analyze her weird friendship (and possible attraction) with a complete stranger that she met on a bench a little over a month ago. Even thinking it made her feel a little crazy, and she groaned as she wiggled around to get a little more comfortable. She probably should have taken her leggings off or something, but she was feeling too tired to move at the moment. She was almost asleep, right on the literal edge, when a sudden thought hit her. It even felt like something had cracked just between her eyes at the sudden realization. 

She’d never told her stranger her name.

**JO**

“I think I’m gonna go powder my nose,” Jo whispered to Tony after yet another person wandered off. All night, people had come up to him and…well, the only way Jo could think to describe it was suck up. Or, more accurately, she’d watched as men kissed his ass and women hit on him, all for their own personal agendas. Wasn’t this supposed to be a charity event? Rich people really were assholes. At least these ones were.

“Make it quick. Because we’re gonna make a run for it,” Tony whispered out of the side of his mouth. Jo had a feeling that she should probably try to convince him to stay a little longer, since it was his company hosting the charity event, but she’d been ready to go since about five minutes in. She was totally on board with leaving. 

“You got it, boss.”

She smiled politely at people as she maneuvered her way through the crowd of people, and she let out a little sigh of relief once she was in the bathroom. The very clean and very empty bathroom. Geeze, everything in here was marble too. She rolled her eyes as she stepped into a stall to quickly take care of business, because she’d been drinking water all night and really had to go, and wearing a dress was making things way more difficult than they needed to be. By the time she emerged from the stall, she was feeling just a touch more annoyed and even more ready to go home. She was washing her hands when the bathroom door opened and another woman walked inside, and bright blue eyes met hers through the mirror. 

“So, you must be Stark’s flavor of the night. Not up for sharing?” the woman asked. What was her name again? Jo remembered that it started with a J, but what she mostly remembered was the woman trying to push a glass of champagne into Tony’s hand after he’d clearly refused the glass. 

“Tony Stark’s personal life is really none of your business,” Jo said as she shook her wet hands over the sink. She needed to leave before she did something rash, but the woman just wouldn’t shut up. 

“I get it, I really do. He’s, like, the richest guy here. And he’s actually hot. Maybe I’ll get him next time.” Jo had been hurriedly drying her hands with some paper towels, and she froze after dropping the towels into a little trashcan. 

_“Walk away. She’s just some little socialite who doesn’t know any better. Walk away,”_ Jo told herself and prepared to do just that. Then a hand curled around her shoulder, and Jo smelled fancy champagne as the woman leaned forward on her heels to whisper against her shoulder because she was still too short to reach her ear. 

“Try to go easy on him tonight, hmm? Save some for the rest of us,” the woman giggled. Jo twisted around, grabbed, and pushed the woman against the wall with a forearm pressed against her collarbones. She was being careful not to use too much pressure, because she didn’t want to accidentally hurt some human, and wide bright blue eyes looked up at her. Then the woman started giggling. “Oh, honey, there’s no point in getting jealous. He’ll forget you when he’s sober anyway. Wanna know a secret though?”

“You really need to—”

“They say he’s more adventurous when he’s drunk. They say you can get him to do anything,” the woman whispered and started giggling again. Jo didn’t even think before pulling her left arm back and slamming her fist against the wall next to the woman’s head, and the woman’s scream was cut off as Jo leaned down to put them on the same eye level. Dust and small chips of marble were in the woman’s light brown hair, and she was starting to shake. 

“If you say one more disrespectful thing about Tony Stark, I will put my fist through your teeth. If you so much as look in his direction, I will break something. Maybe that nose you paid a few grand for. Do you understand me?” The woman jerkily nodded her head, and Jo smiled as she straightened back up to her full height. “Good. And, sorry about your hair, but I get a little cranky when people talk about my best friend. You take care now.”

Jo stepped away from the woman and watched as she slid down the wall a little, and the woman was breathing rapidly but wasn’t crying or anything. Not yet. She could currently be in shock, so there was a chance that she’d have a full-blown freak out at any moment. It’d probably be best to be gone before that happened. She quickly moved out of the bathroom and located Tony, and she laced her arm through his and kept walking. Tony was pulled along with her, and she felt his curious gaze on the side of her face. 

“Did you set something on fire?” he asked her once they were out of the ballroom. 

“Something like that. I’ll explain in the car.” Tony had insisted on driving himself, said it was his reward for actually going to the event, so they were quiet until they reached the small sports car. Jo made sure that her whole dress was inside of the car before closing the door and then Tony took off. 

“Okay, what’d you do? Am I going to get an angry phone call?” They both knew that all complaints went straight to Pepper, and Jo groaned as she dropped her face into her hands. 

“For the record, I did not hurt anyone.” Tony laughed at that, loud enough to make his body shake, and he continued to laugh as she told him what happened in the bathroom. After the car was parked in the Mansion’s garage, Tony turned towards her and asked to see a play-by-play. 

“Oh, come on, sweetheart. I wanna make sure you didn’t scar the girl for life,” he said and grinned at her. She reached out to run her fingers through his gelled hair, and she felt a little better as his hair started to look a little messy. She leaned over the console and pressed their foreheads together as she opened his door, and they both watched the replay of what had happened. 

“See? No scarring,” Jo said as she closed his door and pulled back. Tony was still smiling at her, with her fingers buried in his hair, and he reached up to cup her face and pull her forehead back against his. 

“Thank you for defending my honor, sweetheart.”

“Anytime, boss. Now can we please go inside?” He grinned at her before opening his door, and he was standing next to her door with his arm held out when she opened her own door. She took his arm and let him lead her into the mansion, and they both visibly relaxed once they were in the elevator. Everyone else was already back at home, back in their own rooms, and Tony and Jo stopped between their bedrooms. 

“Thank you for tonight, Jo,” Tony said quietly and leaned forward. His lips pressed against the top of her head, and she wrapped her arms tight around his middle. 

“You’re welcome, Tony. Let’s not do it again anytime soon.” He laughed against the top of her head, and they exchanged quiet _I-love-you_ s before going into their separate rooms. 

Jo froze inside of her room after closing the door, because the only light on in her room was coming from the lamp on her bedside table and it was showing her a perfect sight. Bruce had a pillow between his shoulders and the headboard so that he was sitting up slightly, and his glasses were perched on the end of his nose as he read a book. It looked like one of her romance novels, but she was too busy taking in the sight of him in soft pajama pants and nothing else to confirm that. He looked up at the sound of their door closing and met her eyes, and the slow smile on his face made heat rush through her veins. 

“Good night?” he asked her. Jo reached up and behind her, and she made quick work of the zipper on her dress. It wasn’t easy, she had to do a lot of stretching, and she smiled in triumph when the dress loosened. 

“I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow, and you can tell me all about entertaining the kiddies,” she said as the dress slipped off her shoulders. She pulled her arms through the small sleeves, and she watched the way that Bruce’s eyes flicked down towards her exposed skin before meeting her eyes again. 

“Tomorrow?” he asked. The dress was pushed down to her hips now, and she wiggled a little to push it over the swell of her hips and sighed as it pooled at her feet. 

“Mhmm, tomorrow. Because we already have plans tonight,” she said as she stepped away from the dress. She toed off her flats and reached back for the clasp of her strapless bra as she reached the edge of her bed, and she laughed as Bruce’s hands gripped her hips and pulled her up onto the bed so that she was straddling his hips. 

“I missed you,” Bruce said against her lips before actually kissing her. She managed to get her bra unhooked and then wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and she loved the feeling of his bare skin sliding against hers. Bruce pulled back as one of his hands moved up to her hair, to start carefully working it free, but they stayed pressed together so that his lips brushed hers with every word. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she whispered and pulled him tighter against her. _I love you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got pretty sick for a while, very sick, and I couldn't write. I couldn't really focus enough to write, but I was able to go through this entire story and edit it. Mostly the tenses and grammar, so that it flows better. When I have the time, I'm going to go back and re-post all of the chapters so that everything flows better. Until then, here's an update!
> 
> This chapter was mostly fun and light, I think, because I'm still getting back into the groove of writing for this story. Even though I just read the entire thing. Also! The next chapter is going to be a little emotional, I am going to be emotional anyway, so I'll try to get it out as quickly as I can!


	48. For The Record

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _hold_
> 
> _hold on_
> 
> _hold on to me_
> 
> _‘cause i’m a little unsteady_
> 
> _a little unsteady_
> 
> **Unsteady by X Ambassadors**

**November 1, 2014**

**DARCY**

“Yo, Skye! You in here?!” Darcy called out as she walked into Tony’s lab. She heard music, and she knew Tony wasn’t playing it because he was out on a date with Pepper today. It was a Saturday, so they were both enjoying the day off. Which was exactly what Darcy wanted to do, but spending the day alone just didn’t sound like fun.

“Back here!” Darcy followed the sound to the back of the lab, and Skye was sitting cross-legged on top of a table and hurriedly flipping through screens. None of the numbers or names made any sense to Darcy, so she looked away from the flickering data and at Skye’s face instead. She looked focused, her eyes didn’t waver at all as Darcy stepped closer, and Darcy knew that look. It was the same one Tony got whenever he was working on a project. 

“So, I guess you’re not up for hanging out today?” Skye’s fingers froze in mid-air for a second, and Darcy smiled as dark eyes flicked over to meet hers. 

“I’d love to, really, but I’m getting really close to a break-through. What about Logan? Or Jo?” She must have known that Tony was out for the day, and Darcy crossed her arms as she thought it over. 

“JARVIS? What’s everyone else up to today?” she finally asked. 

“Master Logan is currently speaking with his teaching replacement at Xavier’s School. Miss Jo and Doctor Banner are in his lab. Miss Natasha, Master Sam, and Captain Rogers have gone into the city for the day. Master Loki is helping Miss Illyana while Master Thor and Miss Doreen supervise and have a picnic. Master Clint is in the kitchen making a sandwich,” JARVIS listed off. Okay, so everyone was pretty much out. 

“Oh! You can hang out with Clint! He’s just in the kitchen, doing nothing, so you can go have fun with him,” Skye said with a bright smile. Clint was just in the kitchen, and maybe he didn’t have any other plans for the day. It was worth a shot. 

“You sure you wanna stay locked up here on a Saturday?” Skye was already looking at the screens again, so Darcy wasn’t even sure why she asked it.

“Next weekend, I promise,” Skye said in a distracted tone. Darcy smiled as she told her sister she’d see her later, and she hummed a little as she rode the elevator down to the first floor. She walked at a normal pace to the kitchen, and she kept her smile totally normal as Clint looked up away from his empty plate at her. 

“Hey, Darce. What’s up?” She hated the nickname, and she could tell from the glint in Clint’s eyes that he wanted her to argue with him. Well, she wasn’t gonna give him the satisfaction. So instead she walked over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. 

“Everyone’s busy today, and I’m bored. I haven’t had any free time in forever and now I don’t know what to do with myself,” she said as she turned to lean against the counter. Clint was leaning against the bar from across her, and he crossed his arms as she slowly drank from her bottle. 

“You know, I can’t remember the last movie I watched in a theater.” Darcy lowered her bottle and started to answer, because the whole house had a movie night last Sunday, but Clint continued speaking before she could get a single word out. “Stark’s home theater doesn’t count. I mean an actual theater, out in the real world. Wanna go see a movie with me? If we leave now, we should be able to catch a matinee.”

“You want to leave the house with a home theater to go to a theater and pay money to watch a movie?” she asked in slight confusion. 

“I’ll buy you popcorn,” Clint said and grinned. She did really love theater popcorn, and a whole afternoon with the archer? That was a little too good to pass up. 

“Deal.” Clint’s grin softened a little, and Darcy had just placed her empty bottle in the recycling bin when Clint slung an arm around her shoulders and started leading her out of the kitchen. She tried not to think about how nice it felt to be pressed against his side, failed, and resigned herself to an afternoon of trying her best not to embarrass herself.

**SKYE**

She shouldn’t have shut Darcy down like that. She liked spending time with her twin, and they didn’t always get a lot of time together because they both worked. Skye worked for Tony, Darcy worked for Pepper, and sometimes their schedules were a little weird. So she shouldn’t have passed up an opportunity to spend an afternoon with her sister, but she couldn’t stop thinking about her stranger saying her name the night before. She never told him her name. She’d gone over every single one of their interactions, and she’d never said her name. The only thing she could think to do was occupy her mind with something else, so she was working. Tony was off with Pepper, which was good, because Skye wanted to work on her own. Wanted to lose herself in data encryption and damage control, because there were still files hiding out there that needed to be removed. So she was being useful and keeping her mind occupied. Win-win.

 _Stark, Howard._

Skye stopped the screen at the flash of the name and quickly looked over the document, and it was a Hydra file. Not a SHIELD one. That didn’t make any sense. The rest of the file was encrypted, and there was a video file attached to it. It would be wrong to look at something about Tony’s father without Tony’s permission, but she’d always been the curious type. She looked around the lab, as if expecting to see Tony hiding under a table or behind some machinery, and she reached up to play the video file. It was grainy and difficult to make anything out at first, so she jumped a little when a car suddenly came into view and came to an abrupt stop. It’d hit a tree. So that’s what those blurry blobs were. 

“What the— _oh_!” She watched as a man fell out of the driver’s seat, and she’d seen him in textbooks and on TV enough to recognize him. Howard Stark. He was still on the ground, attempting to get up, when another man approached him. Then she heard Howard Stark speak clearly, and it was just a name. _Sergeant Barnes._

Skye kept her hands clapped over her mouth as Howard was hit in the face repeatedly, before being moved back behind the driver’s seat. Then the other man moved to the other side of the car, to the passenger side where Tony’s mother had been calling out for her husband, and Skye felt the first few tears slip out as a face appeared over the side of his car. It was difficult to tell from the grainy video footage, but Skye had always been good at puzzles. So she could tell from the body language that the man was killing Tony’s mother, probably by suffocating her. Her other arm was wrapped around her stomach as she rocked back and forth, and she could feel her throat starting to burn as she continued to cry. Then the man walked closer to the camera, to shoot it, and she recognized him. 

It didn’t matter that she’d only see half of her stranger’s face, she _recognized_ him. The worst part? It made sense. She knew it was The Winter Soldier who’d shot her and tried to herd to the Avengers Mansion, just like she knew that The Winter Soldier was actually Bucky Barnes. Steve had been looking for him since SHIELD fell, and she’d been talking to him on a bench right around the corner the entire time! And the video…it was off now, thankfully, but she couldn’t stop seeing it. It kept playing out behind her eyes, and she felt like she was going to be sick. She couldn’t stay here though. She had to do…something. She had to do something now. 

“JARVIS?” Her voice sounded hoarse as she hurriedly wiped at her cheeks, and she looked down to make sure that she’d gotten dressed for something outside-appropriate. 

“Miss Skye?” Black jeans. Long sleeved purple shirt. Boots. JARVIS sounded apprehensive, like he already knew what she was going to ask, and she uncrossed her legs and let them dangle over the side of the table. 

“Please don’t tell Tony about this. Let me tell him, okay?” JARVIS knew everything that happened in the Mansion, and Skye knew that he reported all important things to Tony. A video of Tony’s parents dying? That was pretty important. 

“Don’t take too long, Miss Skye.” She nodded at that and slipped off the table, and she pulled her hair up into a low ponytail as she started out of the lab. 

She got lucky. No one stopped the elevator, and no one stopped her on the first floor as she walked across the foyer to the front door. She quickly walked to the gate and then out of it, and her thoughts were spinning all over the place as she nearly ran down the sidewalk. There was no guarantee that he’d be there today, there never was, and she felt a small measure of relief when his blue baseball cap came into view. This area was pretty deserted, so she didn’t have to worry about being overheard. That was good, because she had a feeling that this was going to get ugly. 

“Get up!” she yelled as she walked around the bench. He didn’t jump at the sudden sound of her voice or even look up, and she watched the way that his gloved hands clenched at his knees. “I said, get up!”

“Are you o—”

“No! I am not okay! Now get your ass off this bench!” She stumbled back a step as he surged to his feet, but she quickly held her ground and looked up at him. He was still holding himself so that the hat kept his face shadowed, but there was no point in him hiding anymore. 

“What happened?” She didn’t even know where to begin. No, wait, she did. 

“I know who you are.” His whole body seemed to freeze, like he wasn’t even breathing, and Skye took a step closer and raised a finger to poke the center of his chest. “Say it. Say it!”

“I don’t—” She let out a small scream of frustration as she raised both fists and hit them against his chest, and he didn’t move at all. Just let her hit him and kept his face angled away so she couldn’t see him. 

“Say it!” She was yelling it over and over, and she stopped hitting him with her right fist so she could reach up and snatch off his baseball hat. Once the hat was in her hand, she took a few steps back and stared up into blue eyes.

“I’m The Winter Soldier,” he confessed in a whisper. His hair was messy, his face was stubbled, but he looked almost exactly the way he did on the video. He hadn’t aged at all. Skye swallowed the rising lump in her throat, tightened her fingers around the hat, and straightened her shoulders as she met his eyes again. 

“Is that who’s been sitting on that bench with me? Who’s been asking me questions? Who walked me home?” She knows that he was brainwashed by Hydra, brainwashed and probably tortured, but she needed to know who she was talking to. 

“That’s who did this.” Skye held still as he reached forward, and she didn’t bother trying to hide her wince as he pressed against her left shoulder. Right where one of his bullets entered. His hand dropped to grab her left hand, and her jaw clenched as his gloved thumb ran over the scar tissue on her palm. “And this.”

“And who are you now?” She let him take the hat back and didn’t say anything as he put it back on, shadowing his face again, because she’d already seen him. Now she knew. He took a few steps back until he could sit on the bench again, and Skye stepped closer as he reached out to grip his knees. 

“I don’t know.” His voice was quiet, and Skye crossed her arms as she tried to hold herself together. 

“Are you still working for Hydra?” Would he tell her the truth if he was? His head shook, causing his long hair to brush against his jacket, and his fingers flexed against his knees. 

“I don’t do that anymore.” Okay, that was kind of good news. Assuming he was being honest, but Skye believed him. She didn’t know _why_ she believed him, but she did. 

“Then why haven’t you talked to Steve? He’s been looking everywhere for you.” He flinched at the sound of Steve’s name, it was the first time he’d shown any kind of real reaction, and this time Skye tightened her arms around herself to keep from reaching for him. Her emotions were all tangled up, and she didn’t know how to feel. Her stranger always made her feel safe, but her stranger was also a soldier from the forties who’d worked as an assassin for Hydra for years. Her stranger shot her, multiple times. 

“I still don’t, I can’t…it’s a mess in here.” He laughed quietly as he reached up to tap the side of his head, but the sound was hollow. Dead. “I don’t think I’m the person he knew. I don’t know who I am anymore.”

He sounded lost, and hurt, and Skye didn’t know what to do. What was she supposed to do in this situation? A part of her wanted to call for Tony, because Tony always knew what to do. Or maybe for Jo, because the telepath would be able to tell if he was telling her the truth. Skye believed him though. She believed that he was confused and lost, because he’d been brainwashed and used for decades. She also had a feeling that he wouldn’t want someone else messing with his head, even though Jo was one of the good guys. She also couldn’t call Tony because The Winter Soldier…he killed Tony’s parents. _Bucky_ didn’t, Skye knew that distinction was important, but would Tony see it that way to start with? The few remarks he’d made about his dad hadn’t been pleasant, but he’d said a few nice things about his mother. Neither one of them ever actually hurt him though, so she was sure that learning the truth about their deaths was going to hurt him. She was going to have to hurt Tony, because she can’t keep this to herself. Just like she can’t keep her stranger, Bucky, to herself. 

“Come back with me,” Skye said as she dropped to her knees in front of him. Kneeling in front of him meant that she could see his face, so she saw it when his eyes widened. 

“I can’t do that.” He looked almost afraid, and Skye slowly reached out towards him. Slowly, so that he could see her every movement. She placed her hands over his on his knees, and she could tell that his left hand was different. Could feel the metal even through the thick gloves. 

“Why? We can help you.” Tony would understand that it wasn’t _him_ who’d killed his parents, right? It hadn’t been his choice. Tony would understand, after everything sunk in, and Steve would be happier with his best friend back. They could make this work. 

“Because I need to know. I need to make sure.” The words didn’t really make sense at first, but she could make a few educated guesses. He needed to figure out who he was, now. 

“Then why stick around New York? Why talk to me at all?” He shook his head, but not like he was refusing to answer her. It was more like he was trying to gather his thoughts. 

“You were a mission, and I failed.” He said the words slowly, and Skye felt parts of her body ache with remembered pain. She knew it was psychosomatic, even if those partially healed wounds did hurt from time to time, so she kept quiet as she continued to watch his face. “I wanted, I wanted to make sure that you were okay. That I didn’t, didn’t make you worse.”

“I like the Avengers Mansion. I have family now, blood family and pseudo family, so it worked out. I think I’m better now,” she said quietly. She still got scared and wanted to run away, but she was learning how to be happy. “I have to tell them though. You know that, right? I have to tell them the truth. So if you’re really not ready for any reunions, you need to leave.”

The words hurt to say, but she kept eye contact as she said them. Her hands tightened around his as his jaw worked, and she knew that he was going to leave. He wasn’t ready, and a part of her got that. Another part of her wanted to hold onto him and tell him that he couldn’t leave. That she needed him. Steve needed him. She’d seen how tired and hopeless Steve looked when he thought that no one was looking, and Skye escaped her worries and talked to her stranger to feel balanced again. She’d be unbalanced with him gone, and Steve would only get worse. 

“When?” She thought of the video she’d watched and knew that she couldn’t keep that to herself. Not even for a night. She’d have to tell Tony, as soon as he got home.

“Tonight.” His eyes clenched shut as he leaned forward a little, and his hands flipped over to grab hers as he got to his feet. Skye had to tip her head back to keep looking up at him, and it was so different to be able to see the shadowed parts of his face now. The wind blew around them hard enough to make her shiver as she stood up, but she wasn’t sure if the harsh movement was from the wind or from the fact that she was saying goodbye to someone she thought of as a friend and that she’d have to hurt two people that she looked up to and respected later. 

“You need to take care of yourself, Skye.” He let go of her hands and pulled off the large brown jacket that he was wearing first, and she watched on in confusion as he unzipped the black jacket underneath it. There was a red long sleeved shirt under that jacket, so he really was buried under several layers. Once the black jacket was off, he pulled on the brown jacket and quickly zipped it up. Skye held still as he stepped closer and draped the black jacket over her shoulders, and he spoke again as she pushed her arms into the sleeves. “I don’t know what Hydra had planned for you, or any of the others, but I know it wasn’t anything good. It never is.”

“You could help us,” she told him as he zipped the jacket for her. It was warm, probably from his body heat, and it smelled like…cotton, leather, and generic hotel soap. 

“I don’t think I can help anyone,” he said with another quiet hollow laugh. She hated that sound. 

“You’ve helped me,” she said and pointedly looked past him at the bench. 

“After I shot you.” The words made her curl in on herself, because that was a day she’d never be able to forget. She’d never forget the way it felt to run for her life or the way it felt to get shot. But she also knew it wasn’t his fault. Just like it wasn’t Darcy’s fault when Viper shot her. Or, shot at her. 

“For the record, I think you’re making a mistake. But the decision is yours.” His lips quirked up on one side, like he wanted to smile, and Skye dug her fingers into her ribs as he took a step back. He was going to leave now. 

“Take care of yourself, Skye.” By the time she told Tony tonight, he’d probably be out of the state. Maybe even out of the country. 

“See you later, Bucky.” His wide blue eyes met hers one more time and then he turned around. She lost sight of him quickly, despite the lack of people around, and she walked over to the bench on shaky legs. She turned around just as her knees gave out, and she kept her arms wrapped over her stomach as she leaned forward and started to cry. She needed to get this out before facing the others.

**JO**

“That was awesome! Did you hear the way that girl screamed?!” Jo straightened up at the sound of Darcy’s loud voice and laugh, and she was smiling as Darcy walked into the kitchen. Clint was walking next to her with an arm around her shoulders, and the two of them were holding each other up as they laughed.

“Fun afternoon?” Jo asked. They both jerked to a stop and looked up at her while still laughing, and Jo loved how carefree the two of them looked. It was a good look on both of them. 

“We went to the movies! And we saw this horror movie about a doll, and this one woman just kept screaming the entire time! Probably because Clint kept hitting her with Skittles during the tense moments. It was awesome!” Darcy yelled and raised her free hand. Because her other arm was apparently wrapped around Clint’s back. Clint raised his free hand so they could high-five, and Jo rolled her eyes where they could both see. 

“You’re a menace to society, Clinton,” she said as she took another bite of a granola bar. She’d spent most of the day with Bruce in his lab, and some of it was even productive. The rest of it was mostly…acrobatic. Her thighs and shoulders were still a little sore. 

“No more than you are, Josie,” Clint threw back. Jo was just getting ready to say a comeback when one of the doors in her mind opened, and it wasn’t Tony or Bruce. 

_“Um, Jo? Can you hear me? Am I doing this right?”_ That was definitely Skye’s voice, and she sounded a little quieter than usual. Normally Skye was loud and vibrant, kind of like Tony. 

_“Yeah, kiddo, you’re doing it right. What’s up?”_ Clint and Darcy were both looking at her curiously, so she raised a finger to tell them to wait a minute. 

_“Can you come up to Tony’s lab, please? Alone?”_ Yeah, something definitely felt off. 

_“Be right there.”_ She felt the door close, and she kept the smile on her face as she focused on Darcy and Clint again. 

“Remember, dinner tonight is a free-for-all, so please remember to eat something.” Clint and Darcy both saluted, with their only free hands, and Jo thought it was adorable even as she worried about Skye. “Now, duty calls!”

“Later, Josie!”

“Bye, hot mama!” 

Jo threw a hand over her shoulder in a wave before walking out of the kitchen, and she bounced lightly on her bare toes as she rode the elevator up to Tony’s lab. As far as she knew, Tony was out with Pepper and not even in his lab. It was getting a little late, somewhere around eight, but she hadn’t felt any kind of alarm coming from Tony’s door. Or Pepper’s, for that matter. The elevator finally came to a stop, and Jo quickly walked into Tony’s lab. She found Skye sitting on the couch instead of sitting on one of the tables and working, and the girl was looking at the floor. 

“Skye?” She looked up as Jo got closer, and Jo staggered to a stop at the look on the girl’s face. She’d clearly been crying, for a while. Her eyes were a little puffy and red, and her dark eyes were surrounded by broken blood vessels. The end of her nose was a little red too, and her cheeks looked red from where she’d probably been wiping at them. 

“I look horrible, I know,” Skye said with a wet laugh. It was such a sad sound, and Jo walked a little closer and then slowly lowered herself down to sit next to Skye. She wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and Skye flinched at the gentle touch. Which only made Jo tighten the hold and pull her a little closer. 

“What’s wrong?” Skye shook her head before turning to lay her head on Jo’s shoulder, and Jo wrapped her other arm around the front of Skye’s body so that she could hold the girl against her side. She wasn’t crying, but she was shaking a little even though she was wearing a jacket. 

“I need to tell Tony and Steve something, something big, but I can’t tell them at the same time. I need to tell Tony first. Can you ask Tony to come here? So I can tell him?” Skye’s dark eyes looked exactly like Logan’s, but Jo had never seen Logan look like this. Skye looked like her whole world was falling apart. 

“I’ll get him here. I’ll get him here, and everything will be okay,” Jo said quietly. Skye nodded and dropped her head back onto Jo’s shoulder, and Jo started to slowly rock them as she knocked on Tony’s door. Thankfully, it didn’t take him long to answer. 

_“Jo! What can I do for my favorite bodyguard tonight?”_ Tony sounded happy, light, and Jo wanted to be happy for him but couldn’t because Skye was shaking again. 

_“How close are you to the Mansion?”_ she asked instead. 

_“Walking in now. Everything okay?”_ Tony still sounded happy but a little more subdued, and Jo made quiet shushing sounds as she combed the fingers of one hand through Skye’s loose hair. 

_“Me and Skye just need you up in the lab, that’s all. Just you though, okay?”_ Whatever Skye needed to tell him, Jo had a feeling that it needed to be something private. 

_“I’ll be right there.”_

“Tony just got back, so he’s on his way up now.” Skye made a quiet sound deep in her chest, and Jo quickly tightened her arms around her and tried to comfort her. Just what the hell was going on?

When the lab doors opened and closed, Jo was still holding onto Skye as the girl shook against her. She listened to Tony walk farther into the lab, and she heard his steps falter as he caught sight of them. He approached slowly after that, and Jo opened her eyes and watched as he stretched an arm out towards Skye. Her eyes must have been open too, because she flinched back from him. Jo took note of the hurt and shock on Tony’s face before his eyes met hers, and she couldn’t answer his questioning gaze because she had no idea what was going on. 

“Skye? What happened?” Tony pulled over a chair so that he could sit in front of the couch, and Jo’s arms fell as Skye straightened up. Jo moved her hands into her lap as Skye squared her shoulders, and she met Tony’s eyes right before she started to talk. 

“I swear I didn’t know, Tony, I had no idea. He was just some dude on a bench that I talked to sometimes, but he was also kind of like a friend. He was a friend, even though I was pretty sure he was homeless and never even saw his face. I swear I didn’t know, okay? You have to believe me, I didn’t know,” Skye quickly rambled out. Tony raised his hands but didn’t move to touch her again, and Jo watched the rapid rise and fall of Skye’s chest as her breathing increased. If she didn’t slow down, she’d start hyperventilating soon. 

“From the beginning, okay? Tell us what you’re talking about from the beginning,” Tony said gently. Skye licked her lips and nodded, and she looked down at the floor between her feet before she said anything else.

“Jo? Can you look? Can you see my memories and show them to Tony too? I want you both to see,” Skye said quietly. 

“I can do that, but it’ll be easier if I’m touching you.” Jo could actually probably do it without touch, she’d been getting stronger ever since the mental links were created, but she had a feeling that Skye needed something to hold onto. Skye held out a hand without looking away from the floor, and Jo laced their fingers together. With her other hand, she reached out and laced her fingers through Tony’s. She opened both of their doors, wide open, and images filtered in as Skye started to talk. 

On the day that Fury visited them and they found out that Coulson was alive, Skye went for a walk. She had to get out of the house, needed to breathe, so she left and went for a walk. She wound up on a bench in a pretty much abandoned area, and that was the first time she talked to the stranger. The guy wore a hat that hid his face, but he was nice. Listened to her and gave her advice, advice that she actually listened to. Then he walked her home. 

Then on the day that Thor brought Loki to the Mansion, Skye went for another walk because the Mansion was so tense. She ran into the stranger again, confided in him without giving anything away, and he gave her a knife. Gave her a knife and told her how to use it. Jo was actually a little impressed, because the guy really knew his stuff. Most of her was worried though, because Skye had been alone with him without anyone else knowing. 

She saw him for a few minutes after her first run with Jo, while Jo was in the smoothie shop. It sounded like he’d been keeping an eye on Skye, looking after her, but Skye hadn’t been worried. The stranger, _her stranger_ , made her feel safe. Even though she wasn’t worried about anything, he made her feel safe. 

More meetings as the weeks moved on. Sometimes he was at the bench and sometimes he wasn’t, but Skye always felt better after seeing him. Jo could feel her happiness whenever Skye caught sight of his hat on the bench, and they were friends. It didn’t matter that they never exchanged names or that she’d never seen his face, they were friends. 

Halloween, last night. After the others went inside to sleep, Skye went for a walk. She’d eaten a lot of candy and was running on pure sugar at that point, so she had enough energy to reach the bench. Her stranger hadn’t been there, but she’d sat down anyway. Then he’d appeared and scared the hell out of her, but she’d still been happy to see him. Hated that she’d started to crash from too many late nights and the sugar, and her stranger had carried her home. For the first time, she’d seen the bottom half of his face. She’d wondered if he had a scar or something on the upper half of his face, but she didn’t ask. Just let him carry her back to the Mansion and then he’d carefully placed her back on her feet. Even turned her towards the gate and gave her a gentle push, and he’d told her goodnight. He’d said her name. 

“Stop, now. Stop!” Skye said and jerkily pulled her hand out of Jo’s. Jo opened her eyes as Skye’s door slammed shut, and she looked over to see Skye’s face buried in her hands. 

“Did something happen today? Skye? Did he hurt you?” Tony asked quickly. Jo was protective over Skye, loved her even, but Tony was closer to her. They spent most of their days together, and Jo could hear how worried Tony was as his fingers tightened around hers. 

“You saw that I didn’t know? I didn’t know who he was, I promise,” Skye said quickly and quietly. 

“We know, Skye. You never even saw his face,” Jo reassured her. Skye nodded but kept looking at the floor, and her hands curled over her knees. 

“It freaked me out, that he knew my name when I never even said my name, so I decided to work. Work clears my mind, you know? I can get lost in it and not worry, so that’s what I did. I came up to the lab, here,” Skye paused and looked around the lab without meeting their eyes and then continued, “I came up here to work, and that’s when I found it.”

“Found what?” Jo asked quietly. Skye was looking at the ground again, and her shoulders were shaking even though she wasn’t crying. She was breathing too quickly again. 

“I didn’t mean to look,” Skye whispered and looked up. Jo watched on as Skye’s eyes met Tony’s, and Jo could tell that Tony wanted to reach out to the girl. Skye was shaking all over now and a few tears were dripping off the edge of her chin, and her voice cracked when she spoke. 

“What’d you find?” Tony asked her. 

“A Hydra file, about Howard Stark.” Skye bit her bottom lip as Tony tensed, and Jo took in a slow breath. Tony’s relationship with his father was complicated, which was a mild way of putting it, but Jo knew that Tony loved his father. In his own way. “Please, don’t be mad. Don’t be mad, Tony.”

“I’m not mad at you, kiddo.” Skye quickly shook her head, and some of her hair stuck to her wet cheeks despite the rapid movement. 

“Not at me. Don’t be mad at Bucky. It wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t him.” Jo looked between Skye and Tony, watched the way their eyes connected and darkened, and she started to put some pieces of the puzzle together. The stranger on the bench, he met the general description of Bucky Barnes. About the same height and approximate weight. Long dark hair. Skye was talking about The Winter Soldier and Howard Stark though, not Bucky, so Jo had a feeling that things were about to get a lot worse. 

“I won’t get mad. What’d the file say, Skye?” Tony’s voice was gentle, but Skye still tensed up and wrapped her arms tight around her stomach. 

“I didn’t finish decrypting it, but there was a video. I watched the video. I shouldn’t have, I know that I shouldn’t have, and I’m sorry, Tony. I’m so sorry,” Skye rambled as she started to cry in earnest. Jo tried to reach for her, but Skye leaned away from her and then flinched back from Tony’s hand. Jo met Tony’s eyes as the girl continued to cry, and he looked just as lost as she felt. 

_“If she saw a video of my father and The Winter Soldier, it couldn’t have been anything good. Ask her to play it for you. I don’t have to see it,”_ Tony thought while looking into Jo’s eyes. She could feel his thoughts moving behind his door, putting the puzzle pieces together, and Jo locked her jaw before nodding. 

“Show me the video, Skye. Just me. Tony doesn’t have to see it.” Dark watery eyes looked over at her, glanced at Tony for a moment, and Skye wiped at her cheeks as she met Jo’s eyes again. 

“I wouldn’t have watched it if I’d known,” Skye whispered. 

“I know, and it’s going to be okay. Show me,” Jo said and held out a hand. Skye’s left hand gripped hers, and she took note of the thick scar tissue on her palm for the first time. Skye’s eyes closed as her door opened again, and Jo closed her own eyes so that she could focus. 

_Gray, grainy, old footage. Car accident. No, not an accident. There’s someone else. Howard Stark on his knees, asking for Sergeant Barnes. The Winter Soldier hits him. Once, twice…until he stops moving. Places him behind the wheel. Moves to the passenger side. Blank eyes peer over the car as the passenger is suffocated. As Maria Stark is killed. Blank eyes stare upwards as the camera is shot._

“It wasn’t him! That was, that was what they turned him into! It wasn’t his fault!” Skye said as her door slammed suddenly. Jo immediately leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Skye’s shoulders, and she pulled the girl’s struggling body against hers. 

“I know, Skye, I know. You saw someone completely different, okay? The man in that video? That wasn’t the same man who sat next to you on the bench,” Jo whispered quickly. Skye shook harder at that but stopped fighting against Jo’s hold, and she slowly started to rock the girl in an effort to calm her. It wasn’t easy, Skye was so tense that it seemed painful, and Jo made quiet rumbling sounds in the back of her ruined throat. 

“I have to tell Steve. See?” Skye’s door opened again, and Jo watched her last interaction with her stranger just that afternoon. Jo felt like crying herself at the lost look in Bucky’s eyes, and she moved one hand up to cup the back of Skye’s head as her door closed again. “Steve needs to know. I have to tell him.”

“I’ll tell him, okay? I’ll tell him,” Jo said and continued to rock Skye. 

She lost track of time as she rocked Skye on the couch as Tony watched on with worried eyes, but Skye eventually fell still. Her body stopped shaking and she stopped crying, and Jo clenched her eyes shut when she felt Skye slump against her as she fell asleep. She easily took the girl’s weight and steeled herself, because a part of her wanted to break down and cry too. Skye never should have seen any of that, and Jo knew what else she was worried about. She loved Tony, looked up to him, and she hated that she knew something that could hurt him. Hated that she was friends with someone who had hurt him, even if it wasn’t really Bucky’s fault. She liked Steve, respected him, and she’d been talking to his best friend while he frantically searched for him. 

“Jo?” Tony’s voice was barely even a whisper, and she opened her eyes so that she could look over Skye’s head at him. 

“Let me go lay her down and then I’ll be right back, okay? Do. Not. Move,” Jo instructed. Tony’s smile was small but a promise, and Jo shifted so that she could hook an arm under Skye’s knees. She carefully lifted the girl up and felt her eyes burn a little as Skye instinctively curled into her warmth. 

She only had to take the elevator down one floor, and no one was around as she walked across their shared living room to Skye and Darcy’s room. The room was empty, thankfully, and Jo slowly made her way over to Skye’s bed. (Darcy’s blanket was a bright red, it reminded Jo of Thor’s cape, and Skye’s blanket was a dark purple.) She pulled the blanket and sheet back with one hand, and she kept her body curled over Skye’s as she laid the girl down. Skye instantly rolled into a tight ball, and Jo pulled the sheet and blanket up to the girl’s chin. Tucked her in nice and tight before leaving the room, and she could feel various muscle groups tensing and releasing as she took the elevator back up to the lab. 

“My parents didn’t die in a car accident.” The words caused Jo to freeze before she could reach where Tony was still sitting, and he turned the chair around so that he was facing her. His eyes were dark, so Jo knew that he’d been able to put everything together. Tony was a genius, after all. 

“No,” Jo said and slowly shook her head. She watched Tony’s jaw work as he nodded, and she could feel _something_ coming from behind his door. Something dark and angry, and she took a few more steps towards him. 

“What did they do to Barnes? Was there anything of him when he…” Tony trailed off as Jo walked up to him, and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She felt his hands shaking against her hips before he gripped the back of her shirt, and she felt his hot breath through the cotton of her tee shirt. Well, one of his tee shirts. 

“You told us you still hadn’t found his files, so I don’t know. Going by Steve’s memories, there was nothing left of him. He didn’t even know his own name. Whatever they did to him, Tony…They erased him.” She could remember seeing Bucky’s face the first time Steve saw him, when they were fighting in the street, and that wasn’t who she saw in Skye’s memories. Not at the end. Bucky may have been lost, but it looked like he was fighting his way back. Jo hoped he was anyway. 

“My dad?” Tony didn’t have to finish the question, because she knew what he was asking. 

“Yes.” Fingers pressed against her back hard enough to bruise, and Jo smoothed her hands down his shoulders as he took in a deep breath. 

“My mom?” Jo dropped her cheek onto the top of Tony’s head and held on a little bit tighter, and she had to swallow down the lump in her throat. 

“Yes.” She felt the shiver that worked through Tony and tried to hold on tighter, but she’d hurt him if she held on too tight. “Tony, it wasn’t really him. He didn’t have a choice. He—”

“JARVIS, delete the video. Wipe it completely. I never want to see it.” Tony’s voice was rough, nearly as rough as hers, and Jo lightly gripped his shoulder blades as he pressed his face against her stomach. 

“Right away, sir.” Even JARVIS sounded a little lost, and Jo didn’t know what to do. How was she supposed to make this better?

“You need to go tell Steve that…that he’s okay. He’s alive, at least,” Tony said and then pulled back from her. Jo looked down into clear brown eyes, but she could feel Tony’s hands shaking against her sides. 

“I can stay for a little while longer, if you want?” Steve did need to know, he deserved to know, but this was _Tony_. How could she just walk away when he was hurting?

“I need a minute to myself. Talk later?” His hands were still shaking as he gripped her hips, and Jo reached up to run a hand through his surprisingly clean hair.

“I’ll tell Steve and then I’ll tell the rest of the house too. We shouldn’t keep secrets this big from each other. And after that,” Jo paused until Tony’s eyes met hers and then finished, “I’m coming back to you. Okay?”

“Deal,” Tony agreed and let his hands fall. Jo took several steps back without looking away from Tony’s eyes, and she was sure that she was only able to leave the lab because Tony looked away first. 

Now she had to go tell Steve that his best friend, the one that he’d been looking for, wasn’t ready to be found. Oh, and that he’d killed Howard and Maria Stark after being brainwashed. Then she was going to have to tell everyone else, so that no one would accidentally say something to Skye, Tony, or Steve about…anything. Jo squared her shoulders as she asked for JARVIS to request that Steve meet her in the gym, and she felt the bones in her neck pop as she twisted her head to try and relieve some of the tension. JARVIS told her that Captain Rogers was already in the gym, training with Sam, and she nodded as she stepped into the elevator. 

“So, JARVIS, any tips on how to deliver bad news of this magnitude?” she asked as the elevator started to move. 

“Perhaps using the Band-Aid method might work best.” Tell it all straight up, just like ripping off a Band-Aid. Thor, help her, this was going to hurt. “Good luck, Miss Jo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before I address all the emotional craziness in this chapter, I just want to say that I am going to be posting my stories on tumblr! So, if you want, you can follow me and talk about my stories! Or about anything, really. I’m on a _The Walking Dead_ kick right now actually. So come drop by and say hi! My tumblr account is _**@theironbat-writes-ff**_
> 
> I finally wrote THE BIG REVEAL! I mean, I’m sure most of you knew that Skye’s stranger was Bucky, but I finally wrote it! It wasn’t easy either. The words kept coming out, but it hurt. The next chapter is going to hurt too, because Tony’s kind of in shock and I’m not looking forward to writing Steve’s scene. Any tips on how Steve should react to the news? Because I’m open to suggestions. 
> 
> So, as I’m sure some of you have guessed by now, this is going to affect _Civil War_ events later on. Exactly how things are going to be changed will be explained when I reach that point, which is still several chapters down the road. The next chapter will probably be another emotional one, I hate hurting Steve and Tony, but I’m going to try to make CHAPTER 50 a fun chapter. If there’s any suggestions or requests, just let me know!


	49. A Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _sometimes in our lives we all have pain_  
>  we all have sorrow  
> but if we are wise  
> we know that there’s always tomorrow 
> 
> **Lean On Me by Bill Withers**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this chapter was so insanely difficult. I’d start it, delete it, start again, delete again. No lie, I spent at least two straight days staring at a blank document before I was finally able to write this and be somewhat satisfied. I’m still not one hundred percent sure how I feel about this chapter, but I’m not going to rewrite it. Again. I am sorry about taking so long to update, but this chapter fought me the entire way.

 

**November 1, 2014  
** **Continued**

**JO**

Jo stepped into the gym and stopped to watch how Steve and Sam easily moved around each other, it was more like watching a dance than a spar, and Jo knew the moment that they recognized her presence. Sam side-stepped the punch aimed at his jaw and spun on his heel so that he could grin over at her, and Steve was smiling just a little as he raised his hand to wipe some sweat off his forehead. They were happy, relaxed, and she was going to have to ruin that. She felt herself smile back, felt the muscles in her face shift, and she had to look down at the ground as she walked farther into the gym.

“You here to join in, Tank?” Sam asked as she got closer. She felt like hitting something for a few hours, but there wasn’t time for that. This needed to be handled, as quickly as possible.

“Sorry, boys. I’ll have to kick your asses another day.” Her smile felt fake even to her, and they must have been able to read something in her expression because they exchanged a quick look before looking at her in concern. “Look, I don’t really know how to say this, so I’m just going to say it. Okay? So let me get this out and then you can ask me whatever you want.”

Steve nodded at her first, and Sam crossed his arms as he waited for her to gather her words. JARVIS had suggested the Band-Aid method, and it still seemed like the best strategy. So she started at the beginning and was careful to only give the facts. (She could still see and feel everything Skye had experienced with _her stranger_ , and Skye deserved to have those memories remain private.) She told Steve and Sam that Skye had been meeting a stranger when she left the Mansion to get some air, and she assured them both that Skye had been careful and had never been in any danger.

Then she skipped right to the important stuff. The night before, Halloween night, Skye had met the stranger again and he’d said her name even though she’d never told him. It had left her rattled, so Skye worked on the SHIELD and Hydra files while everyone else enjoyed their Saturday. She’d uncovered a Hydra file on Howard Stark, but she hadn’t decrypted the file. She did watch the attached video file, and Jo didn’t give the full details. Just told Steve and Sam that Skye had watched as The Winter Soldier killed Howard and Maria Stark.

Jo could tell that Steve wanted to speak after that, but she raised her hand and watched as his jaw clenched. She told him that she understood that it hadn’t been Bucky who killed them, and she’d started rolling the bottom of her shirt between her fingers as she prepared to tell them the next part. Skye had recognized The Winter Soldier as the stranger she’d met on a bench, and she’d left the Mansion to confront him. Jo left out the more descriptive details about that meeting too. She told them Skye confirmed that the stranger was Bucky, and that Bucky admitted to being the one who shot her the day that Viper first approached her.

“Where is he?” was the first thing Steve asked when she paused.

“Skye asked him to come back with her, but he’s not ready. We don’t know everything that Hydra did to him, and he’s still trying to figure out who he is.” In Skye’s memories, Bucky had looked lost. Jo knew that Steve was worried about his oldest friend, but Jo didn’t think it was in Bucky’s best interests to be found. Not yet anyway. “He doesn’t want to be found, Steve.”

Jo raised her arms up to wrap around her middle as Steve nodded and then turned on his heel, and her eyes clenched shut and she jumped a little as his fist connected with the back wall. She couldn’t read his thoughts, but she could feel a few things slipping out of his door in her mind. He wasn’t exactly angry. All Jo could really feel was _hurt_. She wanted to go to him, try to say or do something to comfort him, but she also knew that sometimes people just had to work through everything in their own time. This wasn’t something that Steve could just get over after hearing a small speech or receiving a hug. He’d need time. So Jo looked away from where Steve was braced against the back wall and met Sam’s eyes instead.

“Skye told me and Tony first. Tony doesn’t blame Bucky, he knows that The Winter Soldier never had a choice, but he’s probably going to need some space. Same goes for Skye. They were _friends_ , Sam,” Jo stressed in an attempt to make him understand. Sam had helped all of them, listened to them and tried to make them a stronger team, and Jo trusted him. She wanted him to know that things were going to be a little tense for a while.

“What about the others?” Sam asked. Jo looked around him at where Steve was still facing away from them and tightened her fingers against her sides.

“I’m gonna go tell them now. We can’t keep something this big quiet, and I don’t want anyone to accidentally say something that’ll upset them.” Them being Skye, Tony, and Steve.

“You go handle them. I got him,” Sam said and tilted his head in Steve’s direction. Jo nodded because she couldn’t think of anything to say, and she turned around to walk out of the gym.

She asked JARVIS to call for a meeting in the den, with a few obvious exceptions. Skye was asleep in her room and didn’t need to sit through Jo telling everyone what she’d been through that day. Tony was in his lab and already knew what she had to say, and Steve and Sam would probably be in the gym for a good while. So Jo just needed to tell everyone else in the house what had happened. She could feel a lump rising in her throat as she thought about the words she was going to have to repeat, this time for everyone to hear, and she shifted on her feet as she started biting the inside of her cheek.

“Everyone has been alerted, Miss Jo.” JARVIS’s voice was quiet in the elevator, and she sucked in a deep breath and then released it as the elevator doors opened.

 

**PEPPER**

She was sitting on a couch and talking quietly with Darcy as people started to walk into the den, and she checked off each of the names while continuing to discuss Monday’s upcoming meeting with Darcy. Jo was already in the den when Pepper got there and talking to Bruce, but Tony was still missing. After they got home from their date, Tony said he was going up to the lab to talk to Jo and Skye. Skye wasn’t in the den either, so maybe they were both still in his lab?

“Alright, everyone! I’m going to try to make this quick. Please hold your questions until the end,” Jo said and moved to the center of where they were all sitting.

Bruce moved to sit down on Pepper’s side, so she was sitting between him and Darcy on one of the couches. Maria, Doreen, Logan, and Illyana were sitting on another one of the couches. Thor and Loki were occupying a loveseat, and Clint was sitting in a chair with Natasha perched on the arm of the chair next to him. Four people were missing, and Pepper sat up a little straighter. Had something happened to Skye and that was why she was missing along with Tony? Or had something happened to Steve and Sam?

Once everyone was quiet and looking at her, Jo started talking. Pepper knew that Skye frequently took walks, Tony had mentioned it more than once because he worried about the young woman’s safety, but she hadn’t known that Skye was meeting with a stranger. Apparently no one did, because Darcy looked just as surprised as Pepper felt. Before anyone could ask if Skye was okay, Jo told them that Skye had recognized the stranger after viewing a Hydra file on Howard Stark. Pepper’s fingers laced together and squeezed as Jo told them that Tony’s parents were killed by The Winter Soldier, not in a car accident, and it took every ounce of her willpower not to jump up and go find Tony immediately. Tony’s relationship with his parents had been strained, his relationship with his father even more so, but Tony had loved them. If he knew this, and Pepper assumed that he did, then she couldn’t imagine what he was feeling at the moment.

Jo powered through the shocked looks on everyone’s faces and then told them that Skye had left to go confront the stranger. For the past couple of months, Skye had been talking to Bucky Barnes on a bench. (Not The Winter Soldier. Jo had made sure to turn and look everyone in the eye as she made that distinction.) Bucky had also admitted to being the one who shot Skye the day she came to the Mansion, but he didn’t know what Hydra’s plans for her were. When Skye had asked him to come back to the Mansion with her, Bucky had declined. After everything that Hydra had done to him, he was still trying to put the pieces of who he was together.

“Tony knows everything, and so do Steve and Sam. All I’m asking is that all of you give them some space. If they want to talk, they will. Don’t be surprised if they’re a little out of it for a while though, okay?” Jo asked and looked around the room.

“Don’t worry, Tankster. We’ll look after them from a distance,” Doreen said first. Thor nodded along to her statement, and Clint and Natasha exchanged a glance and seemed to have a silent conversation before nodding as well.

“Where are they now?” Maria asked.

“Skye’s asleep in her room, Tony’s in the lab, and Sam and Steve are in the gym,” Jo quickly listed off. Pepper held still as everyone started to leave the room, while talking quietly amongst each other, until only Jo and the people on her couch were left. Darcy and Bruce were still sitting on either side of her, and Pepper’s eyes widened as Jo knelt down in front of her.

“You have to help him,” Pepper said as Jo’s dark eyes met hers. She unclenched her fingers and pulled her hands apart, and she could see the way her hands were shaking as she reached out to Jo. The other woman didn’t hesitate to reach up and hold onto her hands, and Pepper felt a hand rubbing slow circles over her back. A large hand, gentle, Bruce’s.

“You mean Tony? Don’t you want to go see him?”

_“Of course,”_ was Pepper’s first thought. Pepper had been in love with Tony for so long that she couldn’t remember when she actually fell in love with him, and he’d always been her best friend. She knew that he had to be hurting, and she wanted nothing more than to go comfort him. To hold him to her and tell him that everything was going to be okay, even if it didn’t seem like it at the time.

“I think he’s going to need you tonight. Take care of him for me?” Pepper could hear the way that her voice was shaking now too, and Bruce’s arm had moved to curl around her shoulders. Jo looked away from her and to the side, over at Bruce, and Pepper watched as Jo’s cheek twitched.

“Pepper’s right. Tony’s going to need you tonight. Don’t worry about us. I’ll look after Pepper.” Jo’s dark eyes looked a little watery at the quiet tone of Bruce’s voice, and she nodded once before turning her head to look at Pepper’s other side.

“You okay, kid?” Jo asked quietly. She was still holding onto Pepper’s hands, but her body was turned so that she was facing Darcy now.

“Skye never…she never told me anything.” Darcy didn’t sound mad or upset; she sounded more confused than anything, and Pepper turned to look at her. Darcy looked pale, but she was holding herself steady.

“What the two of you have been through…your whole lives got flipped upside down, and she just needed to take a moment for herself sometimes. The man that she met on that bench? He was kind to her, listened to her, and he might be the one who convinced her that being happy here was worth the risk of losing it all someday. It didn’t matter that they never traded names or that she never saw his face, they were friends. She cared about him,” Jo explained quietly in her rough voice. Darcy looked almost like she was in a trance as she listened to Jo speak, and Pepper felt her heart breaking for Skye as Jo continued. “And she watched him kill people. Watched him kill the parents of the man that she works for, the man that she looks up to. She was worried about her friend, and she hated that she knew something that could hurt Tony. Then after talking to Bucky? To Bucky and not to the stranger that had become her friend, she realized she was going to have to hurt Steve too. Because Bucky isn’t ready to be found, by anyone. Skye’s going to need you, Darcy. She’s going to need someone to be on her side.”

“I’m always going to be on her side,” Darcy said instantly. The answer made Jo smile, just a small twitch of her lips, and Pepper felt Jo’s fingers flexing against her hands.

“Let her rest for now, and I’m sure she’ll talk when she’s ready,” Jo said and tried to smile again.

“And Tony?” Darcy asked. Before Pepper came back into Tony’s life, before everyone else was in the Mansion, Darcy only had Tony and Jo. Pepper’s heard enough from all three of them to know that they grew very close very quickly, and everyone can clearly see how much they all care about each other. If Pepper didn’t know better and wasn’t good at guessing ages, she would’ve believed that Darcy really was Tony and Jo’s daughter. They both loved her, and Darcy loved them.

“I’m gonna go check on him now, but he’ll be fine. Because he’s got all of us, right?” Jo asked and looked at all three of them. Pepper nodded, and she guessed that Bruce and Darcy did as well because Jo continued. “They all do. We’re not just a team of superheroes and geniuses and mutants. We’re a family.”

“A family,” Darcy echoed.

“A family,” Pepper agreed and finally let herself relax against Bruce’s side.

“A family,” Bruce repeated quietly. Jo squeezed Pepper’s hands one last time and then stood to her full height, and she looked down at all of them with dark eyes after releasing Pepper’s hands.

“If you need me, just knock.” Jo tapped against her temple as she took a few steps backwards, and Pepper let her head fall against Bruce’s shoulder. When no one said anything else, Jo spun on her heel and quickly walked out of the den.

“I’m going to go up to my room, just in case Skye needs me,” Darcy said a moment later. Pepper twisted enough to look over at Darcy, and the young woman looked determined. Determined and worried.

“You can come to us if you need us,” Pepper said as Darcy got to her feet. She turned to look down at them, and Pepper felt a little relief when Darcy smiled shakily.

“I know, because you’re the best step-parents ever. See you at breakfast.”

Darcy walked out of the den with her head held high, and Pepper sighed as she turned her face against Bruce’s shoulder. Over the past several weeks, they’d become friends. Pepper loved Tony, loved Jo, but the two of them could be quite loud. Pepper actually thought it was cute the way that they yelled and teased each other, but sometimes it was nice to sit in Bruce’s quieter presence. They both understood that their significant others were close friends, that there was some kind of special bond between the two of them, and they both accepted that close relationship because they wanted Tony and Jo to be happy. Bruce loved Tony just like Pepper loved Jo.

“Can we sit here? Just for a little while?” Pepper asked. She felt Bruce moving backwards, leaning back against the couch, and she was pulled along with him since his arm was still around her shoulders.

“They’ll be okay,” Bruce said quietly. Pepper hummed her answer, because she didn’t disagree with Bruce. She knew that Jo would take care of Tony, and they’d all take care of Skye and Steve. Because that was what families did.

 

**JO**

The elevator stopped at the sixth floor instead of going up to the seventh, and Jo trusted JARVIS to know where Tony was. So instead of questioning the AI, she stepped off the elevator and took a look around. The door to her and Bruce’s room was shut, and so was Darcy and Skye’s bedroom door. Tony and Pepper’s door was cracked open, and that’s where Jo headed. The door didn’t make a sound as she pushed it open, and the room was dark except for the small light mounted above the head of the bed. It was just enough light for her to see Tony sitting at the foot of the bed, and she closed the door behind her before walking farther into the room.

“Pepper?” Tony asked as she stopped in front of him. She knew that Tony hadn’t mixed them up, even though he hadn’t looked up from the floor, and she slowly reached out and ran her hand through his clean hair.

“Bruce is gonna look after her tonight, so me and you can have a sleepover. How’s that sound, boss?” She tried to keep her tone easy and light as her fingers combed through Tony’s hair, but it wasn’t easy. She kept picturing Pepper’s wide eyes and felt the way her hands had shook, saw the worry in Bruce’s eyes, and remembered the lost look in Darcy’s eyes as she worried about her twin.

“Sounds good, sweetheart.” Tony finally looked up at her, and Jo felt some of the weight pressing against her chest ease as their eyes met.

“Come on then. Bath first and then cuddle time,” Jo decided. Tony had spent the day out with Pepper, so there wasn’t any grease in his hair for once. That didn’t really matter though. Jo knew what worked for them, what brought them both some sense of calm, and Tony didn’t protest as she reached down to grab his hands and pull him up off the bed.

They were quiet as they shuffled into the bathroom, and Jo sat down on the edge of the large tub as she started the water. Once the temperature was just right, because she knew that Tony liked hot baths without the water being _too_ hot, she plugged the tub and turned around to tell Tony to get in. The words froze in her throat though, because Tony was just standing in the middle of the bathroom and looking straight ahead with a blank look in his eyes. He hadn’t made a single move to start undressing himself, and Jo swallowed before getting to her feet.

Tony held perfectly still as she reached up to take off his suit jacket, and the blank look on his face stayed put after she dropped the jacket onto the floor. He normally told her that she was ruining a perfectly good suit whenever she did that, but this time he didn’t say a word. Jo already had his shirt off and was working on his shoes when he finally tilted his head down, and she glanced up to meet his eyes as she pulled his second shoe off. He didn’t say anything though, just watched as she slipped his socks off. Tony was never the quiet type, it was throwing her off a little, and she resisted the urge to open his door as she started working on his slacks.

“Is it wrong if I’m angry?” Tony didn’t ask the question until he was sitting in the bathtub, with Jo’s legs on either side of his body as she massaged shampoo into his hair, and her fingers stilled.

“Angry at Bucky?” It didn’t matter that Tony didn’t see the video; he knew that The Winter Soldier was responsible for his parent’s deaths, and they all knew that The Winter Soldier was Bucky Barnes. Just like they all knew that, despite technically being the same man, they were two completely different people. Still, knowing all of that logically doesn’t make it easy to separate the two _emotionally_. Or something like that. It’d been a long day, and Jo’s own thoughts were all over the place.

“He didn’t target them. The Winter Soldier didn’t even target them,” Tony answered quietly. Jo started moving her fingers again, working up some small suds, and she grabbed the cup that they kept specifically for rinsing out Tony’s hair.

“So you’re mad at Hydra,” Jo guessed. She moved Tony’s head so that he wouldn’t get water or shampoo in his eyes, and she placed the cup back in its usual place before reaching for the conditioner.

“I’m always mad at Hydra. I think I’m angry at…I don’t even know,” Tony sighed. Jo moved even slower than usual as she made sure to completely cover Tony’s hair in conditioner, and she tried to think over the situation from Tony’s point of view. It was a little hard to do, because she’d been close to her ma and lost her to natural causes. Her father died before she was born, but the man she considered as a father figure was alive and currently living under the same roof as her.

“Come on, Tony, you can tell me,” she said as she rinsed his hair again. He kept quiet as she lathered up a sponge, and he waited until she was washing his back to speak again.

“I’m angry at my dad for being involved in dangerous stuff that got him and my mother killed, because I’m sure Hydra had a reason for killing him. I’m angry at Hydra for what they did to Barnes and for making him kill someone that was once his friend, because I remember my dad talking about Sergeant Barnes when I was a kid. I’m angry at Barnes for hurting Skye by leaving, even though I understand why he’s leaving.”

Tony’s hands moved down to grip her ankles and squeezed, and his temple pressed against her bare knee because she’d stripped out of her shorts before stepping into the tub. Jo knew what he wanted, she could hear him knocking lightly on his door, and she used the cup to wash the soap off of him. Once he was all rinsed off, she wrapped her arms around him until her hands were braced over his arc reactor. Then she leaned down to press her cheek against the top of his head, and she didn’t care that she was getting soaking wet.

_“I’m angry because we had a fight before they left. We were always having a fight. What if he didn’t know…I told her, but what if he didn’t know?”_

“He knew, Tony.” Howard Stark had been a flawed man and hadn’t been the best father, but Tony had still loved him in his own way. Just like Howard Stark had loved his son, even if he rarely showed it.

“You can’t know that. You’re a telepath. Not a time traveler.” Tony’s tone was too light, too easy, and Jo tightened her arms around him. No, she didn’t have proof that Howard had known. She didn’t really need proof though.

“If he was even half the genius that you are, then I’m sure he knew,” she whispered into his hair. Tony’s hands rose up to hold onto her wrists, to press her hands tighter against the arc reactor, and Jo clenched her eyes shut. Tony’s door was wide open now, and she could hear and feel everything.

Tony’s thoughts were always moving at hurricane speeds, and now wasn’t any different. She could feel the swirl of anger, both directed at others and at himself, but that was just scratching the surface. She caught glimpses of his memories, of his father and mother. Of hearing the news that his parents were gone. Heard Obadiah Stane’s voice saying, _a truly terrible accident_. Saw Skye through Tony’s eyes, sitting on the couch and shaking next to Jo. It didn’t matter that Skye had only been with them for a couple of months, Tony loved her. Just like the both of them loved Darcy only a few weeks after she moved in. Tony spent the majority of his time with Skye, and the two of them seemed to always be on the same wavelength. Seeing the young woman hurting, seeing how upset she’d been…Tony kept replaying it over and over, and he felt helpless because he didn’t know how to help her.

“How did Steve take the news?” Tony asked around the time that they started to prune.

“He didn’t say anything, but Sam was with him.” Steve had been so focused on finding Bucky ever since SHIELD fell, and Jo wasn’t sure what kind of impact the news was going to have on him. Jo could easily say that she loved Steve, in the same way she loved Kitty and Peter, and she was worried about him.

“Wilson will look after him.” If they stayed in the water any longer, they’d get permanent wrinkles. So Jo carefully slipped her wrists out of Tony’s slack grip and moved to her feet.

“We’ll get through this, all of us,” Jo said confidently and stepped out of the tub.

Together, Jo and Tony dried off without slipping on the wet tiles. Tony put on a pair of his own silky boxers, and Jo pulled off her wet tee shirt before slipping on the gray Hulk shorts she’d been wearing before bath time. She listened to Tony pad his way over to his bed as she ducked into his closet, and she grabbed the first tee shirt she saw. A black Rolling Stones shirt. She could work with that. Since she was fully clothed, she walked out of the closet and immediately moved over to the bed. She crawled up the bed until she was lying on her back, and she let her arms flop against the mattress so that Tony could roll over onto her.

Tony’s hands gripped her tee shirt as his head was pillowed on her chest, and her legs spread a little more so that he could lay down between her thighs. Her hands instantly reached down, and she pressed one palm flat against his back while the other disappeared into his wet hair. She could hear his thoughts slowing down as he started to count her heartbeats, and her eyes closed as she listened to him count.

 

**SKYE**

The main light in her bedroom was off, but the lamp on Darcy’s bedside table was on and lighting up the room just a little. Skye’s eyes opened into slits, just enough for her to get a good look around, and it was a little startling just how normal everything looked. Darcy was sitting on top of her blanket with her back braced against the headboard, and she was reading something on her tablet. She’d changed into her pajamas, a pair of baggy red pants and a plain white tee shirt, and her hair was even up in a sloppy bun as she squinted down at her tablet. Skye could almost pretend that it was any other night, but her face still felt hot and swollen from hours of crying.

“Did they tell you?” Darcy jumped at the sound of Skye’s voice, she even dropped her tablet onto the bed, and Skye held still as Darcy looked over at her. Her thick purple blanket was wrapped around her and tucked up under her chin, so the only part of her that was visible was her head.

“Yeah, Jo told us,” Darcy said quietly. Skye nodded a little, she figured that the older mutant would make sure that Steve and everyone else knew the truth, and she bit down on the corner of her lip as she met Darcy’s eyes again.

“Are you mad at me? For not telling you about my…about Bucky?” She’d almost said _my stranger_ , but that wasn’t who he was. His name was Bucky Barnes, and he was gone now.

“What? No!” Darcy said immediately and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She must have noticed the widening of Skye’s eyes, because she stopped with her feet braced against the ground and took a slow breath. “No, I’m not mad. I think I get it. All of this, living here, biological family, adopted family…it’s kinda overwhelming sometimes, huh?”

“A little,” Skye admitted. Sometimes she forgot that all of this was new for Darcy too. Yeah, Darcy met everyone before she did, but all of the family stuff was just as new for her.

“And the dude you met, he was easy to talk to?” Darcy wasn’t trying to force her to talk. She just looked curious to Skye, like she wanted to hear the story from Skye’s perspective, and Skye felt the words just start pouring out of her.

She laughed as she told Darcy about the first time she’d met her stranger, sitting on a bench that faced a horse’s ass, and Darcy laughed along with her as Skye recounted all of their meetings. Darcy never moved from where she was sitting on the edge of her bed, and Skye stayed curled up under her blanket as she talked. It felt good to actually say the words, instead of just showing Jo and Tony a quick slideshow. This time she got to actually talk about how she felt whenever she saw her stranger sitting on their bench, and it looked like Darcy actually understood. Her stranger wasn’t an ex-assassin for Hydra or Steve’s best friend from the forties. Her stranger was a guy that was always there to listen to her ramble about whatever was on her mind and who looked out for her.

By the time Skye reached the end, she didn’t bother with holding anything back. She told Darcy everything. From sugar-crashing on the bench, to her stranger carrying her to the Mansion and then saying her name, about seeing that awful video, and talking to _Bucky_. She was crying again as she told her twin what he’d looked like as she hit him and demanded him to say his name, and she admitted that she couldn’t stop thinking about how it’d felt to stand next to their bench and watch as he disappeared.

“He stayed in New York because he wanted to make sure that I was okay.” Her throat was tight and the words sounded a little strangled, but she forced herself to say them anyway. “He wanted to make sure that he didn’t make me worse.”

“I’m going to come hug you now. If you don’t want me to, say so now,” Darcy said and got to her feet. Skye had never really liked being touched before, not after the orphanages and foster homes, but she’d been getting more and more used to it since moving into the Mansion. The people in this house were always hugging, and Skye could really use a hug at the moment.

Skye uncurled from the ball she was in, and her blanket slipped down as she sat up a little. She realized that she was still wearing Bucky’s jacket as Darcy sat on her bed, and she ducked down a little to wrap her arms around Darcy’s middle and pushed her wet face against Darcy’s shoulder. She could feel Darcy’s arms tightening around her shoulders as hands started to comb through her hair, and Skye let herself fall apart against her twin. It felt good to let go, to let it all out…it felt good to know that she wasn’t alone.

 

**BRUCE**

_“Everything okay?”_ Jo’s mental voice was quiet, and Bruce stretched out on the futon as he opened his eyes and looked up at the dark sky.

_“Pepper’s asleep in our bed. I’ve been reading on the futon.”_ He and Pepper had stayed in the den for close to an hour, just resting against each other, until Pepper had fallen asleep.

Bruce liked Pepper, they’d become close friends over the past couple of months, and she hadn’t even stirred when he picked her up. It still amazed him that Pepper, that anyone really, felt safe enough around him to fall asleep. He knew that Hulk wasn’t a danger to anyone, but he’d spent years avoiding people. People who knew the truth about him avoided him as well, for their own safety. Until Tony, who’d never looked afraid. The people in this house knew him and trusted him, weren’t afraid of him, and Pepper had even curled closer to him as he rode the elevator up to their floor. He’d laid her down on the bed he shared with Jo, tucked a spare blanket around her, and then walked out onto the balcony to lay on the futon.

_“You don’t have to sleep outside. I’m sure Pepper wouldn’t mind sharing the bed, the thing’s huge, or you can come cuddle with me and Tony. He’s asleep, but I know he won’t mind.”_  
Bruce knew that both options were available.

A couple of weeks ago, Tony and Jo had fallen asleep in Tony and Pepper’s room after Jo practiced using her mental link with Tony to move things around in Tony’s lab. He and Pepper had just looked at them with fond smiles, and Pepper had said that maybe the two of them should shack up for the night. They’d slept in his and Jo’s bed, on opposite sides instead of curled together like Jo and Tony, but they’d been comfortable around each other. They’d woken up with their backs pressed tight together, spines perfectly aligned.

As for sharing a bed with Tony and Jo, he’d done that more times than he cared to count. Instead of being awkward or uncomfortable, it was easy. Tony always held onto one side of Jo, and Jo always turned so that she could hold onto Bruce. He never felt like he was intruding on anything or disrupting them, and he knew that if he went to Tony’s room now that he’d probably be asleep within minutes. Falling asleep with Jo touching him was always easy. Tonight though, Tony needed Jo.

_“I’ve still got a few things to work on, but I’ll see you in the morning. Goodnight, Jo. I love you.”_ Saying those three words was getting easier, became easier every time he said them, and he could feel how much Jo loved him because the link between their minds was wide open. She loved him for being so understanding, for loving Tony as much as she did, and she loved him for just being himself.

_“I love you too.”_

 

**SKYE**

Darcy was lying face down on Skye’s bed when she slipped off the foot of the bed, and Skye paused as she looked down at her twin. At the way her back rose and fell as she breathed evenly, because she was fast asleep. Skye had been asleep too, after crying herself out against Darcy’s shoulder, and the two of them had fallen asleep while still holding onto each other. Despite all the sleep she’d gotten that day though, she still felt exhausted. Before going back to sleep though, she was going down to the kitchen to get something to drink. It was like all the crying had completely dehydrated her, and she quietly made her way out of the bedroom and then across the living room she shared with her weird adopted parents.

Tony and Jo joked about Darcy and Skye being their daughters, but they were both overprotective of them. Then there was Bruce and Pepper, who were supportive and always there to help them out. Darcy spent her weekdays with Pepper, and Bruce was always patient and helpful whenever Skye peppered him with questions in between working with Tony on his projects. They really were like a family. Not just the people on this floor, but everyone in the Mansion.

Skye slumped against the back wall of the elevator as she rode down to the first floor, and she thought about all of the others that lived in the Mansion. Logan was growly and rough around the edges, but he was never mean or dismissive. He listened to her and Darcy whenever they came to him, and he never turned down an opportunity to spend time with them. Even if they asked him to go shopping or watch Disney movies. He’d protest or complain, but he’d never hesitate to go along with them. Then there was Thor. Darcy looked up to the god as a big brother, and it was obvious that Thor loved Darcy. Skye hadn't been expecting him to so easily accept her too, but Thor always included her whenever he approached Darcy. (Which was how Skye knew that the god could easily carry her and Darcy on his shoulders while running all over the Mansion.) Loki was still a bit of a wild card, but Skye thought he might be warming up to them. Well, to some of them at least.

Doreen was fun to be around. The older mutant had a habit of saying whatever was on her mind, which was kind of refreshing, but she was also laidback. Skye felt perfectly at ease sitting next to her, and she loved listening to Doreen’s stories. About the places she’d been and all the different mutants she’d met. Illyana was younger than Skye, but she knew more about mutations than Skye did. She also visited Tony’s lab pretty often, but Skye never had a problem working with the younger girl in the room. Illyana was quiet with a more dry sense of humor, and Skye liked talking to her as she worked.

Then there were the ex-SHIELD agents. Clint was hilarious. Skye knew that he was a complete badass, but she regularly got to see him dancing in the most ridiculous ways and challenging people in the arcade. He could always tell when someone was feeling down or a little off, and he always knew the perfect way to distract them and cheer them up. Natasha was kinda terrifying, but Skye looked up to her. Natasha had been showing her some moves, and she said that they’d start working on real training once Skye’s body was ready. (Whatever that meant.) Maria was a little quieter and spent most of her time coordinating things with the new SHIELD agents, but she was also a kind of mother hen. She’d actually noticed when Skye’s usual running shoes had started to show wear and tear, and she’d given Skye an identical pair the next day.

Sam…Sam deserved an award for putting up with all of them. Possibly his own national holiday. After he’d told them to either open up or stop wasting his time, he’d listened to her with a kind of patience that none of Skye’s government counselors had shown. He’d done more than just listen too. He’d seen right through all of her nervous rambling and gotten right to the root of her issues, and he’d come up with a way to help her. He was also always willing to stop whatever he was doing to hear her out whenever she was freaking out about something, because Sam was just a good guy like that. Which only left…

“Steve.”

Skye froze right inside of the kitchen, because Steve was sitting on a stool at the bar. There was a plate with a half-eaten sandwich on it in front of him and a bottle of water, and he looked up and over when she said his name. At first glance, he looked the same as always. The longer she looked though, the more she could pick out the little differences. His shoulders were slumped, like he was shrinking in on himself, and his face was pinched. Drawn tight.

“Did you skip dinner too?” Well, she hadn’t been expecting that. It actually took her a minute to think it over, but she couldn’t remember eating dinner. She didn’t even remember eating lunch. The last meal she remembered was breakfast.

“Yeah, but I’m just here to grab something to drink.” Her voice sounded a little rough, and she cleared her throat before taking another step into the kitchen.

“You shouldn’t go to bed without eating. Let me make you a sandwich.” His blue eyes looked a little darker than usual as he looked at her, and Skye couldn’t say no. So she nodded instead and then moved over to sit down on a stool as Steve stood up.

“It doesn’t have to be anything complicated. You can just slap some ham between two slices of bread,” she said as Steve looked into the fridge. He turned around with his arms full of ingredients and leveled a familiar look at her, and Skye felt her lips tipping up into a smile as she looked down at the bar. Steve was normally the one that cooked dinner for them, usually with help from Logan or Jo, and he liked making well-rounded and healthy meals for all of them.

“Can I ask you about him?” Steve’s back was to her when he asked it, she could see him moving to make her sandwich on the counter next to the stove, and she shifted so that she could drum her fingers against the top of the bar.

“Yeah, of course.” Her voice still sounded a little tight, but Bucky was Steve’s friend before Skye was even born. There was no way she was going to refuse to tell Steve about the friend he’d been looking for.

“Did he seem okay?” Steve still wasn’t looking at her, and that made answering him a little easier.

“Physically? Yeah. He kinda looked homeless because of the long hair and perpetual stubble, but he looks healthy. Mentally? He always seemed okay to me. He was easy to talk to,” Skye admitted. She watched as Steve nodded and then moved back over to the fridge, and she was trying to think if there was anything else that she needed to say when he turned around. He had a plate with her sandwich on it in one hand and a bottle of water in the other, and Skye sat up straighter on her stool as he walked around the side of the bar.

“Back in Brooklyn, before the War, Buck was always clean shaven. He hated having any kind of facial hair. Said it was itchy.” When Skye looked over at where Steve was sitting next to her, she saw him smiling a little as he picked up his sandwich and took another bite. He must have felt her looking at him, because he looked over and then pointed at her untouched sandwich. “You need to eat.”

She gave a quick salute and then reached for her water bottle, because her mouth was as dry as a desert, and then she started eating. It was like she didn’t realize that she was hungry until after her first bite, and she heard Steve let out a quiet sound of amusement as she started to hurriedly chew. He still looked a little off, a little less like himself, but she thought that he’d be okay. She just wished there was something that she could say to make him feel better or give him hope. She thought it over as she quickly ate her sandwich, and a thought came to her as she washed the last of her sandwich down with a long drink of water. Her eyes stayed on her plate as she spoke, but she knew that Steve was looking at her because she could almost feel his gaze on the side of her face.

“Sometimes when we’d meet up, he’d be writing in a notebook. He told me he was writing a book about his life. Now that I know who he is, I think he was trying to remember stuff. Remember who he was.” Skye could see Steve’s upturned palm on the bar, and she bit down on the corner of her lip as she slid her palm across his.

“He’ll come back when he’s ready.” Steve’s voice was strong and steady, but the grip on her hand was tight as their fingers laced together.

“And then we can tag-team lecture him on being an idiot for running away,” Skye said and looked over. Steve’s smile was small and sad, and she tightened her hold on his hand as she felt her eyes start burning.

They were both done eating, but they sat in the kitchen for a little while longer. Hands laced over the bar, looking straight ahead instead of at each other, and breathing slowly in sync. If Skye’s cheeks were wet or if Steve’s eyes were a little red when they finally got up, there was no one around to see. Their hands laced together again as they walked out of the kitchen, but their eyes didn’t meet again until the elevator stopped at the fourth floor. Steve didn’t say anything; he just squeezed Skye’s hand, leaned down to press a kiss against the top of her head, and left the elevator after giving her another sad smile.

Skye got off the elevator at her floor and walked to her bedroom on numb feet, and Darcy was lying in the exact same position as when she left. Skye crawled up the bed until she was lying next to her twin, and she curled up close to the heat of Darcy’s body. Her eyes closed as she nuzzled down against her pillow, and she let her body relax as she stuffed her hands into the pockets of Bucky’s jacket. Her day had sucked, she’d cried more in one day than she had in years, but she was starting to feel like everything would be okay. That maybe, if she stuck with the people who were becoming her family (or possibly already were family), everything would work out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter was sad, _so much angst_ , but it had to be done. As I’m sure you can guess, everything that’s happening is going to affect Civil War events. I’ll still be writing the Civil War stuff though, and I’m excited to write the changes! I gotta get through Ultron first though, and those chapters are going to be…interesting. 
> 
> Now, since this chapter was mostly depressing, I’m going to make the next chapter a little lighter. So if there’s anything that you’d like to see, any particular characters/pairings/activities, feel free to make a request! Writing the lighter chapters is usually a lot easier for me, so the next update should be out sometime soon. (By soon, I mean anywhere from next week to a couple of months from now. Feel free to send me messages and yell at me to write faster. The motivation helps.) If there’s any questions about anything, please don’t hesitate to ask!
> 
> Oh, and come say hi to me on tumblr!


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